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AMERICAN   GAME 


IN  ITS  SEASONS 


BY 


HENKY'  WILLIAM  glEEBERT, 

A.TITHOE  OF    "fBANK   FOEESTKB's  FIELD  SPORTS,"    "  FISH   A.ND   FISHING,"   "WARWICK 
WOOULASDS,"  "my  SUOOTINQ   BOX,"   "  THE  DEEE-8TALKBKS,"  ETC,   ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED     FKOM     NATUEE, 


AND    ON    WOOD,    BY    THE    AUTHOR. 


NEW  YOEK : 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER,    145    NASSAU    STREET. 

1853. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 
C  II  A  E  L  E  S    S  C  K  1  B  N  E  E, 
In  tbe  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  I'nited  States  for  the  Southern  Dis- 
trict of  New  York. 


Sterentyped  and  Printed  by 
a    W.   BENEDICT, 

201  William  Street,  N.  Y. 


SHfl 


OF  PHILADELPHIA^ 

IN   TOKEN   OF  KEGARD   AND   ESTEEM, 

THIS  LITTLE  VOLUME 

IS     RESPECTFULLY     DEDICATED, 

BY  HIB 
FELLOW-COUNTRYMAN,  FELLOW-SPORTSMAN,  AND  FRIEND, 

HENRY  WM.  HERBERT. 
Thb  Ckdabs,  Jamtary  10, 1868L 


ivi8^6812 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FAOINQ  PAGE 

FRONTISPIECE,         -                -                -                -                -  1 

THE   MOOSE,              .                  .                 _                 -                 -  45 

WILD   GOOSE,           -                -                -                -                -  68 

MALLARD   AND   WIDGEON,                    _                 _                 _  ^ 

SNIPE,        ------  go 

BASS,          ------  119 

AMERICAN    TKOUT,                  -                 -                 "                 -  129 

J3RANT,      -                 -                 -                 -                 -          .       -  141 

BAY   SNIPE,              -----  16T 

SALMON,   ------  169 

WOODCOCK,                -                 -•                -                 -                -  18T 
BUMMER   DUCK,       -                 -                 -                 "                 "     '    •         203 


VI  LIST   OF  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


WAcaa  PAOB 
221 


COMMON   DEER,      -  -  -  -  _ 

BLUE-WINGED   TEAL,  -  -  -  _ 

QUAIL,       "  -  -  -  -  _ 

BITTERN,-  -  - 

RUFFED   GROUSE,  -----  ^^ 

YELLOW   PERCH,    -  -  -  -  -  ^qq 

CANVAS-BACK,        -  -  -  -  . 


WINTER   DUCK, 


266 


883 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


This  volume,  which  is  now  for  the  first  time  submitted 
to  the  public  in  a  connected  form,  is  composed  for  the 
most  part  of  papers  which  have  appeared  from  time  to 
time  in  the  pages  of  Graham's  excellent  magazine,  under 
the  running  title  of  "  Tlie  Game  of  the  Month."  It  does 
not  profess  to  contain  complete  accounts  of  every  species 
of  game,  found  or  pursued  within  the  wide  limits  of  the 
United  States  of  America — ^that  must  be  looked  for  in 
works  of  wider  scope  and  larger  pretensions,  whether  by 
the  author  or  others.* 

All  that  it  aims  at  doing  is  to  set  some  of  the  princi- 
pal and  most  highly  esteemed  varieties  before  the  gene- 
ral reader,  in  a  light  and  attractive  style,  with  some 

*  I  may  here  mention, "  Hawker  on  Shooting,"  American  Edition,  by 
William  T.  Porter  ;  «  Frank  Forester's  Field  Sports,"  and  "  Fish  and 
Fishing,"  by  Henry  William  Herbert ;  and  "  Hints  to  Sportsmen,"  by 
E.  I.  Lewis ;  all  of  which  works  have  found  favor  with  the  public,  and 
are  admitted  standards. 


VI 11  ADVERTISEMENT. 

account  of  their  specific  distinctions  and  characteristics 
in  a  zoological  point  of  view ;  of  their  habits,  haunts, 
and  migrations ;  and  of  their  season  in  different  parts 
of  the  vast  demesnes  owned  by  the  American  people ; 
not  what  is  esteemed  the  most  sportsmanlike  and  scien- 
tific mode  of  pursuing,  killing,  and  when  killed,  cooking 
them  for  the  table. 

The  leading  idea  of  the  plan  was  to  adopt  for  each 
month  in  the  year  the  finest,  and  most  generally,  favor- 
ite species  of  game,  with  reference  principally,  as  regards 
season^  to  the  ISTorthern,  Midland,  and  J^orthwestern 
portions  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  though  the 
animals  described  are  common  more  or  less  to  all  sections 
of  the  country. 

The  somewhat  rambling  and  irregular  plan  of  the 
series  renders  any  apology  for  this  or  that  species  of 
game  wholly  unnecessary,  since,  in  the  first  j)lace,  it 
never  was  intended  to  constitute  a  perfect  natural  history 
of  all  the  game,  birds,  beasts,  and  fishes  of  America, 
but  merely  a  series  of  sketchy  papers ;  and  in  the 
second,  because  the  series  is  yet  in  progress,  and  when- 
ever it  may  appear  desirable,  or  be  called  for  by  public 
favor,  another  volume  or  volumes  may  be  from  time  to 
time  presented. 


ADVERTISEMENT.  IX 

The  illustrations  are  all  designed  and  drawn  on  wood 
from  nature,  hj  the  author,  with  two  exceptions,  "  the 
Bittern,"  and  "  the  Yellow  Perch,"  which  were  copied 
from  correct  representations,  owing  to  the  impossibility 
of  procuring  specimens  at  the  moment  when  they  were 
required.  It  is  believed  that  they  will  be  found  correct 
as  zoological  representations ;  while  the  beautiful  and 
elaborate  work  of  Messrs.  Brightly  and  Devereux's 
gravers  cannot  fail  to  obtain  the  admiration  it  merits. 

I  have  only  to  acknowledge  my  obligations  to  the 
officers  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History,  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  to  Mr.  Bell,  the  celebrated  Taxidermist  in  New 
York,  for  the  facilities  they  have  kindly  afforded  me  in 
obtaining  specimens  for  this  and  former  works ;  and  to 
submit  my  little  work  to  the  consideration  of  my  friends 
of  "the  sporting  world,  and  the  larger  circle  of  the  read- 
ing public. 

Heney  Wm.  Herbert. 

January  10,  1853. 


CONTENTS. 


GAME  IN   rrs  SEASONS. 

JANUARY. 

The  Cariboo  or  American  Reindeer.     Cervas  Tarandm.    -         17 

FEBRUARY. 
The  Moose  Deer.     Cervus  Alces.  ------         45 

Thh  Wild  Goose.    Anas  Canadensis.  -----  58 

MARCH. 
The  Mallard  and  Widgeon.    Anas  Boschas.    Anas  Americana.    71 

APRIL. 
The  American  Snipe.     Scolopax  Wilsonii.    -        .       -       -         89 
Striped  Bass.    Labrax  Lineatus.  -        .      ^-       -        *        •        119 

MAY. 
The  American  Trout.     Salmo  Fontinalis.    -       -       -       -        129 

The  Brent  Goose.    Anas  Bernida,      -----       141 


XU  CONTENTS. 

JUNE. 

Bay  Snipe.  Hudsonian  Godwit.    Limosa  Hudsonicn.   The  Ked- 

BREASTED  Snipe.     Scolopax  Noveboracensis.        -  157 

The  Salmon.     Salmo  Solar.        ----._  169 

JULY. 
The  Woodcock.     Scolopax  Minor,  sive  Microptera  Americana.        187 

AUGUST. 

The  Summer  Duck.    Anas  Sponsa  sive  Dendroriessa,     -        -        203 

The  Common  Deer.     Cervus  Virginianus.    -        -        -        -        221 

SEPTEMBER. 

The  Blue-Winged  Teal.     The  Green-Winged  Teal.     Anas 

Dicors.     Anas  Carolinensis. 237 

OCTOBER. 
The  Quail.     Ortyx  Virginianus. 253 

The  Bitterk.     Ardea  Lentiginosa. 266 

NOVEMBER. 
The  Buffed  Grouse.     Tetrao  Umhellus.       -        -       -        -        285 

The  Yellow  Perch.    Percafavescens.-       -       •       -       -       300 


coi^TENTS.  xiii 

DECEMBER, 

The  Canvas-Back.     Anas  Valisneria.    -  -        -        -        .        3X9 

The  Winter  Duck.    Fuiigula  Bimaculata  -        -        -        -        332 


JANUAEY. 


CJt  Carikfl. 


THE    AMEEICAN   EEINDEEE, 

CertyM  Tarandma, 
ARCTIC  REGIONS— NEWFOUNDLAND  TO    NEW  YORK. 


THE  CAEIBOO. 

AMERICAN  REINDEER. — CcTvios  Taraudus, 

Habitat  ;  from  Newfoundland,  througli  all  tlie  British 
provinces  and  possessions  so  far  north  as  the  artic  seas, 
to  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  ]^ew  York.  The 
Cariboo  is  not  found  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  farther 
west  that  the  Black  river,  nor  on  the  great  lakes  west- 
ward of  the  Ottawa. 

It  is  said  that  there  exists  several  varieties  of  this 
splendid  stag  in  the  extreme  northern  regions,  though 
they  have  not  been  defined  even  by  the  recent  bold  and 
scientific  explorers  of  those  inhospitable  climes. 

I  have,  however,  recently  satisfied  myself  that  there 
are,  if  not  in  Canada,  at  least  in  ^Newfoundland,  two  dis- 
tinct varieties  of  Cariboo,  one  vastly  superior  in  size  to 
the  other,  and  characteristically  separated  from  the 
smaller,  by  the  form  and  structure  of  its  horns.  Of  this 
I  am  satisfied,  by^  the  examination  of  a  pair  of  antlers, 
lately  exported  from  that  curious  and  interesting  island, 
by  my  friend.  Dr.  Hugh  Caldwell,  which  differs  entirely 
from  those  in  my  own  possession,  which  furnished  the 
models  for  my  frontispiece,  and  from  many  specimens 


18  AMERICAN   GAME. 

in  the  office  of  the  "  Spirit  of  the  Times,"  all  brought 
from  the  same  island,  by  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Palmer,  of 
IsTew  Brunswick. 

The  general  characteristics  of  this  huge  deer,  inferior 
only  in  size  to  the  Moose  deer,  Cervus  Alus,  of  the  same 
regions,  and  to  the  Wapiti,  Hound  Horn,  or  American 
Elk,  Cervus  Canadensis^  of  the  far  west,  differing  and  dis- 
tinguishing it  from  all  other  animals  of  the  same  species, 
are  first :  The  peculiar  structure" of  its  horns,  combining 
the  properties  of  the  palmated  and  furcated  structures. 
Second,  The  length  and  looseness  of  its  pelage,  and  the 
shortness  of  its  tail,  which  rather  resembles  the  scut  of  a 
hare,  than  the  long  flag  of  a  deer;  and  thirdly,  Tlie  ex- 
treme cleft  of  its  hoofs  and  feet,  extending  up  the  pas- 
terns, nearly  to^the  fetlock  joint.  A  structure  to  which 
this  animal  owes  its  great  facility  in  traversing  the 
treacherous  snow  drifts,  is  the  unparalleled  spread  of  its 
hoofs  and  pasterns,  the  whole  length  of  which  rests  on  the 
surface  over  which  it  bounds,  when  in  full  action,  up  to 
the  fetlock,  supporting  it  where  small-footed  animals  of 
inferior  size  and  weight  would  sink  up  to  the  belly  at 
every  stride,  and  where  man  himself  labors  even  with 
the*  mechanical  aid  of  snow-shoes. 

In  speaking  of  the  color  of  the  Eeindeer  below,  as  the 
most  grizzly  and  lightest  colored  of  its  tribe,  I  am  not  cer- 
tain that  I  have  not  fallen  into  the  error  of  assigning  the 
characteristic  coloring  of  one,  the  JS^ewfoundland  variety, 
and  possibly  the  winter  coloring  of  that,   as  general 


THE  CARIBOO.  .  19 

among  the  race.  Mr.  Wallop  speaks  of  their  "  dark- 
brown  hides,"  and  some  Canadian  sportsmen  have  ob- 
jected to  my  description ;  still  I  prefer  lettin'g  what  1 
have  written  stand,  since  I  wrote  from  actual  inspection 
of  ^Newfoundland  Cariboo  skins ;  and  until  I  have  seen 
others  of  darker  hue,  must  hold  in  absence  of  other  proof 
what  I  have  seen  to  be  true. 

If  the  Cariboo  of  the  other  British  provinces,  and  the 
INorth-eastern  States  of  America,  differ  in  color  from 
those  of  IsTewfoundland,  my  too  general  statement  may 
perhaps  tend  to  elicit  further  information,  by  which  the 
numbers  and  distinctions  of  the  several  varieties  may  be 
definitively  attained. 

It  is  not  a  little  extraordinary,  that  this  magnificent 
and  noble  species,  which  exists  in  considerable  numbers 
within  two  hundred  miles  of  the  spot  where  I  sit  writing, 
in  the  Adirondack  Highlands — I  mean  of  New  York — 
which  abounds  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  Maine, 
swarms  in  Kew  Brunswick  and  E^ewfoundland,  and  in- 
deed everywhere  North  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Ottawa, 
to  the  extremest  Arctic  Regions  yet  penetrated  by  the 
foot  of  man,  should  be  yet  less  known  to  American 
writers — even  on  the  topic  of  Natural  History — than 
most  animals  of  Central  Asia,  or  the  inhospitable  wilds  of 
Southern  Africa.  It  is  not  even  determined — so  little  care 
has  been  taken  in  examining  or  identifying  specimens 
— ^whether  it  is  one  and  the  same,  or  a  different  species- 
from  the  Reindeer  of  the  Europe- Asiatic  continent ;  nor 


20  .     AMERICAN   GAME. 

have  any  of  its  peculiarities  been  noted  down,  sucli  as 
the  common  indications  of  its  stature,  antlers,  pelage, 
and  color,  much  less  its  anatomical  and  osseous  structure, 
so  as  to  permit  of  any  accurate  comparison  being  drawn, 
or  decision  arrived  at. 

In  proof  of  the  loose  way  in  which  these  self-styled 
descriptions  of  rare  animals  are  drawm,  in  books  of 
solemn  pretension  and  supposed  authority,  I  shall  pro- 
ceed to  quote  the  following  from  the  Encyclopaedia 
Americana — a  work  of  which  I  can  only  say,  that  it  is 
equally  profuse  of  needless  information  on  subjects  trite 
to  every  Sophomore,  and  sparing  of  facts,  such  as  require 
research  and  are  required  by  men  of  ordinary  reading, 
who  will  search  its  pages  vainly  for  what  on  occasion 
they  may  need  to  ask  it. 

"  Beindeer^^ — says  the  authority.  "  Tliese  animals  in- 
habit the  Arctic  Islands  of  Spitzbergen,  and  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  Old  Continent,  never  having  extended, 
according  to  Cuvier,  to  the  southward  of  the  Baltic. 
They  have  been  long  domesticated,  and  their  appearance 
and  habits  are  well  described  by  naturalists.  The  Amer- 
ican Reindeer,  or  Cariboo,  are  much  less  generally 
known ;  they  have,  however,  so  strong  a  resemblance  to 
the  Lapland  deer,  that  they  have  always  been  considered 
to  be  the  same  species,  though  the  fact  has  never  been 
completely  established.  The  American  Indians  have 
never  profited  by  the  docility  of  this  animal,  to  aid  them 
in  transporting  their  families  and  property,  though  they 


THE  OAEIBOO.  '  21 

annually  destroy  great  numbers  for  their  flesh  and  hides. 
There  appear  to  be  several  varieties  of  this  useful  quad- 
ruped peculiar  to  the  high  northern  regions  of  the  Amer- 
ican Continent,  which  are  ably  described  by  Dr.  Richard- 
son, one  of  the  companions  of  Captain  Franklin,  in  his 
ai'duous  attempt  to  reach  the  Il^Torth  Pole  by  land.  The 
closeness  of  the  hair  of  the  Cariboo,  and  the  lightness  of 
its  skin,  when  dressed,  render  it  the  most  appropriate 
article  for  winter  clothing  in  the  high  latitudes.  The 
hoofs  of  the  Eeindeer  are  very  large,  and  spread  greatly, 
and  thus  enable  it  to  cross  the  yielding  snows  without 
sinking." 

And  this — without  one  word  of  its  height,  weight, 
color,  or  habitat — is  tlie  only  information  which  the 
Editor  of  the  American  Encyclopaedia  thinks  proper  to 
give  his  readers — except  a  brief  description  of  Dr.  Bich- 
ardson,  about  whom  he  seems  to  know  a  little,  if  he 
knew  nothing  about  Cariboo — concerning  an  animal, 
which  is  killed  almost  annually  within  fifty  miles  of 
Albany,  sold  annually  in  Montreal,  and  in  N'ew  Bruns- 
wick and  !Nova  Scotia  almost  as  common  an  article  as 
venison,  or  Moose-meat  during  winter  in  the  markets. 

Would  not  any  one  suppose,  on  reading  the  above, 
that  he  was  dealing  with  the  description  of  an  animal, 
which  roamed  only  wastes  untrodden  by  the  foot  of  the 
white  man,  save  the  adventurous  explorers  of  the  Arctic 
Circles,  and  concerning  which  no  information  can  be 
gained  by  the  ordinary  naturalists  of  this  country? 


22  AMEBICAU   GAME. 

Cuvier  and  Eichardson,  and  Audubon's  stupendous 
work  are  not  attainable  by  general  readers,  or  even 
ordinary  writers  of  cities ;  to  those  of  the  country  they 
are  nitterly  inaccessible — but  to  Encyclopaedists,  and  to 
men  who  sit  down  to  reproduce  great  works  on  E'atural 
History,  who  choose  to  consult  them,  they  are  perfectly 
and  easily  open ;  and  there  is  no  shadow  of  excuse  for 
those  who  profess  to  teach  others,  yet  refuse  to  learn 
themselves. 

Had  the  writer  of  the  above  worthless  trash  thought  fit 
to  compare  Dr.  Richardson's  description  of  the  Cariboo, 
which  it  seems  he  had  read — and  which,  like  all  that 
singularly  able  natm'alist's  descriptions,  is  doubtless  as 
minute  as  correct — with  Cuvier's  description  of  the 
Reindeer,  he  might  have  pronounced  as  easily  as  he 
could  whether  two  and  two  makes  four  or  Rye,  whether 
the  American  and  Europe- Asiatic  deer  are  identical  or 
different.  Godman,  in  his  "  Quadrupeds  of  North 
America,"  though  a  little  more  definite  than  Dr.  Leiber, 
is  scarce  less  bold  and  brief.  Dr.  Dekay,  whose  la- 
mented life  has  recently  been  brought  to  an  untimely 
close,  though  he  suspected  it  to  be  a  denizen  of 
New  York,  was  not  fully  assured  of  the  fact,  and  there- 
fore has  not,  I  think,  described  it  in  his  Fauna  of  that 
State. 

I  have  myself,  unfortunately,  no  immediate  access  to 
either  Richardson  or  Cuvier ;  nor  even  to  any  well  estab- 
lished work  on  the  Animals  of  Northern  Europe.    But 


THE   CAKIBOO.  23 

I  have  seen  a  large  herd,  in  my  youth,  of  the  Lapland 
Reindeer,  which,  with  their  Esquimaux  attendants,  were 
exhibited  many  years  ago  in  London ;  previous  to  a 
futile  attempt  at  naturalizing  them  in  the  Highlands 
and  Western  Isles  of  Scotland;  and  have  a  fair  general 
remembrance  of  the  animal.  I  possess  antlers  of  the 
Cariboo,  which  hang  in  my  hall,  and  which  are  accu- 
rately portrayed  in  the  wood-cut;  I  have  handled 
twenty  times  the  hides  of  this  great  deer ;  and  I  have 
daily  opportunities — in  the  office  of  my  friend,  W.  T. 
Porter,  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Times — to  examine  the  pre- 
served heads  and  legs  of  even  finer  specimens  than  my 
own.  I  have  also  letters,  private,  and  writings  pub- 
lished, of  a  New  Brunswicker,  who  has  killed  the  Cari- 
boo fifty  times,  and  had  opportunities  of  seeing  the 
European  Eeindeer,  at  the  Zoological  Gardens  in  London, 
long  since  myself.  I  can,  therefore,  form  a  very  fair  con- 
jecture  at  the  identity  or  non-identity  of  the  species.  At 
least,  I  can  give  some  particulars  of  structure,  stature,  and 
pelage  of  the  American  Cariboo,  which  will  enable  oth- 
ers to  judge,  who  are  better  posted  up  than  I,  in  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  Lapland  Reindeer.  And  first — I  will  pre- 
mise that  although  I  have  never  seen  the  Cariboo  in 
life,  or  in  his  native  woods — ^which  I  trust  to  do  before 
tlie  snows  of  the  next  March  shall  have  melted — ^the 
wood-cut  illustration  of  this  number  is  so  closely  made 
up  from  measurements  of  the  various  parts,  heads,  ant- 
lers, legs  and  hides  of  the  animal,  that  I  believe  it  to  be 


24  AMERICAIT   GAME. 

as  nearly  correct  as  any  likeness  can  be,  whicli  is  not 
taken  from  an  especial  individual  of  tlie  race. 

In  the  first  place — as  to  tlie  stature  of  the  Cariboo,  I 
was  long  ago  struck  by  the  statements  of  the  JSTew 
Brunswick  writer,  "  Meadows,"  alias  Mr.  Barton  "Wal- 
lop, alluded  to  above,  which  may  be  found  in  Porter's 
edition  of  Hawker's  Field  Sports,  p.  326-333— "The 
Cariboo  of  this  country  are  very  like  the  Keindeer,  only 
a  little  larger" — and  again — "  As  this  is  the  first  time 
you  have  seen  a  Cariboo  trail,  you  will  observe  it  is 
much  like  that  of  an  ox^  save  that  the  cleft  is  much 
more  open,  and  the  pastern  of  the  animal  being  very 
long  and  flexible,  comes  down  the  whole  length  on  the 
snow,  and  gives  the  animal  additional  support." 

Arguing  on  this  statement,  in  my  "Field  Sports," 
knowing  Meadows  to  have  seen  both  animals,  that  they 
must  be  distinct,  I  pointed  out  that  no  one  could  dream 
of  comparing  a  Lapland  Reindeer's  track  to  that  of  an 
ox,  any  more  than  to  that  of  an  elephant ;  and  observed 
farther,  that  the  Laj^land  Reindeer  is  not.  a  larger,  but, 
to  my  recollection,  a  smaller  animal  than  the  common 
American  Bed-deer,  Cervus  Virginianus  of  l^aturalists. 
This  coming  casually  under  Mr.  "Wallop's  eye,  he  wrote 
to  me,  in  full  confirmation  of  my  opinion,  that  he  had 
recently  seen  Lapland  Reindeer  in  the  Regent's  Park 
Zoological  Gardens,  and  wished  to  amend  his  former 
dictum^  by  saying,  that  the  Cariboo  is  at  least  one-third 
taller  than  the  Lapland  deer,  and  otherwise  larger,  and 


THE    CAEIBOO.  25 

in  otlier  respects  very  diiFerent.  Also  tliat  the  Lapland 
animal  is  not  taller  than  the  British  stag,  or  the  Ameri- 
can Common  Deer,  or,  if  at  all,  very  slightly  so. 

ISTow,  to  come  to  my  own  observation,  verified  by 
measurement.  Tlie  Cariboo  antlers  in  my  own  possess- 
ion, not  an  nn usually  large  pair,  measure  as  follows  : 

Extreme  v/idth  from  tip  to  tip,  one  foot  four  and  a 
half  inches.  Length  of  curvature  of  antlers,  from  root 
to  tip,  two  feet  three  and  a  half  inclies.  Direct  height, 
twenty-three  inches.  Breadth  of  the  palmated  brow 
antlers,  eight  inches.  Length  of  do.,  eleven  inclies. 
Breadth  of  upper  palm,  eight  inches.  Lengtli  of  do., 
twelve  inches.  Girth  at  tlie  root  of  antler,  five  and  a 
half  inches..  At  insertion  of  upper  prong,  four  inches. 
Kumber  of  prongs  at  the  tips,  unequal — three  and  two. 
At  the  upper  palms,  three.  On  the  lower  palms,  seven 
processes,  including  the  principal  point. 

Compare  with  this,  the  measurements  of  the  antlers 
of  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the  common  American  deer, 
Cervus  Yirgiiiiamts. 

Extreme  Avidth  from  tip  to  tip,  eleven  inches.  Length 
of  curvature  along  the  back  of  antlers  from  root  to  tip, 
two  feet  and  half  an  inch.     Direct  height,  fifteen  inches. 

Observe,  however,  that  the  greater  curvature  in  the 
horns  of  the  American  deer,  while  it  causes  a  larger 
comparative  measurement,  leaves  a  vast  excess  in  height 
and  show  to  the  Cariboo. 

In  the  Cariboo,  moreover— see  cut — ^the  structure  of 


'26  AMERICAN   GAME. 

the  horns  is  directly  the  reverse  of  that  of  any  other 
palmated-liorned  animal  I  ever  remember  to  have  seen  ; 
as  the  Moose,  the  Englisli  Fallow-deer,  and  to  the  best 
of  my  recollection  the  Europe- Asiatic  Reindeer.  In 
both  the  former  of  these  animals,  the  broad  palms  form 
the  extreme  upper  tips  ;  while  the  lower  spurs  and  brow 
antlers  are  round  prongs  ;  and,  to  the  best  of  my  mem- 
ory, the  Reindeer  has  no  very  conspicuous  palms  at  all. 

In  our  common  deer,  again,  contrary  to  any  other 
deer  I  have  ever  seen — except  a  very  noble  nondescript 
specimen  recently  sent  from  Calcutta  to  the  Spirit  of 
the  Times — the  main  branch  of  the  antlers  curves  for- 
ward over  the  brow,  offering  the  main  defenses,  the  true 
brow  antlers  being  mere  erect  prongs ;  while  all  .the 
tines  are  posterior  to  the  main  branch. 

In  the  American  Elk,  and  in  the  British  Stag,  or  Red- 
deer,  and  in  all  other  round-horned  deer  I  ever  saw,  the 
main  antlers  rise  erectly,  with  a  slight  backward  curve, 
the  brow  antler  and  all  the  other  tines  springing  from 
it  anteriorly,  and  forming  the  true  weapons  for  the  ani- 
mal's defense. 

The  Cariboo,  therefore,  presents  a  curious  combination 
of  the  round-horned  and  palmated-horned  deer,  in  the 
first  instance  ;  and  of  the  usual,  and  American,  round- 
horn  structure,  in  the  second.  First,  it  has  the  round, 
pointed  tips  and  sharp,  round  prongs  of  the  round-horned 
deer  above,  with  the  flat,  leaf-like  blades  of  the  pal- 
mated-horned deer  below.     And,  secondly,  it  has  the 


THE   CAEIBOO.  27 

forward  curve  at  the  tips  and  backward  prongs,  above, 
of  the  American  round-horn,  with  the  terrible  brow 
antlers  and  forward  tines  of  the  usual  structure  below. 

Lastly,  it  differs  from  all  in  this — that  its  brow  antlers, 
instead  of  dividing  with  an  outward  curve  over  and 
without  each  eye,  close  with  a  straight  inward  inclina- 
tion, until  the  tips  almost  meet,  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
a  brow. 

Once  more,  as  to  size,  there  are  the  leg,  with  hoof, 
pastern  and  cannon-bone  of  an  ordinary  sized  Cariboo ; 
and  the  leg,  with  hoof,  pastern  and  cannon-bone  of  an 
extraordinarily  large-sized  American  deer,  and  as  such 
selected,  hanging  side  by  side  in  Mr.  Porter's  office. 
The  limb  of  the  Cariboo  is  considerably  more  than  one- 
third  superior  in  size  to  that  of  the  common  deer,  and  is 
fully  equal  to  that  of  a  yearling  heifer  of  the  very  larg- 
est stature,  and  from  its  peculiar  structure,  being  cleft 
nearly  the  full  length  of  the  pastern  to  the  fetlock-joint, 
would  evidently  leave  a  much  larger  track. 

I  have  seen  and  ridden  aged  thorough-bred  horses  of 
fourteen  and  a  half  hands — four  feet  ten  inches  high — ■ 
whose  limbs  were  in  all  respects  inferior  to  that  of  this 
superb  specimen  of  the  deer  tribe ;  and  right  confident 
am  I,  from  observation  of  several  of  their  heads,  their 
hides  and  hoofs,  that  from  fourteen  and  a  half  to  fifteen 
hands  will  be  found  to  be  the  average  height  of  the 
Cariboo.  If  the  Lapland  Reindeer  ever  exceeds  thirteen 
it  will  be  surprising  to  me.     While  on  this  topic,  how- 


28  AMERICA^."    GASIE. 

ever,  I  will  beg  the  first  Canadian  or  ISTova  Scotian 
hunter  whose  eye  this  may  meet,  to  furnish  me  with  the 
full  statements  of  height,  weight  and  measurement  of 
a'ny  Cariboo  he  may  be  so  fortunate  as  to  kill,  or  to  have 
killed,  during  the  present  winter.  Readers  of  Graham 
will  find  in  the  February  number  of  the  year  1852,  a 
correct  and  spirited  reprjesentation  of  the  antlers  of  the 
English  Red-deer  ;  and,  if  they  will  look  forward  to  the 
months  of  February  and  August  of  this  volume,  they 
will  find  those  of  the  Moose  and  American  Deer,  de- 
signed by  myself  from  the  life,  wJlich^will  far  more 
easily  convey  the  comparison  which  I  desire  to  draw, 
than  written  words. 

As  regards  the  nature  of  the  pelage,  or  fur,  for  it  is 
almost  such,  of  the  Cariboo,  so  far  from  its  being,  as  the 
wiseacre  of  the  Encyclopaedia  states,  remarkable  for 
closeness  and  compactness,  it  is  by  -all  odds  the  loosest 
and  longest  haired  of  any  deer  I  ever  saw ;  being,  par- 
ticularly about  the  head  and  neck,  so  shaggy  as  to  ap- 
pear almost  maned. 

In  color,  it  is  tlie  most  grizzly  of  deer,  and  though 
comparatively  dark  brown  on  the  back,  the  hide  is  gen- 
erally speaking,  light,  almost  dun-colored,  and  on  tlie 
head  and  neck  fulvous,  or  tawny  gray,  largely  mixed 
with  white  hairs. 

Tlie  flesh  is  said  to  be  delicious ;  and  the  leather  made 
by  the  Indians  from  its  skin,  by  their  peculiar  process, 
is  of  unsurpassed  excellence  for  leggins,  moccasons  or 


THE    CAKIBOO.  29 

the  like  ;  especially  for  the  moccason  to  be  used  under 
snoAv-slioes. 

As  to  its  liabits,  wliile  tlie  Lapland  or  Siberian  Eein- 
deer  is  tbe  tamest  and  most  docile  of  its  genus,  tlie 
American  Cariboo  is  tbe  fiercest,  fleetest,  wildest,  shy- 
est and  most  untameable.  So  much  so,  'that  they  are 
rarely  pursued  by  white  hunters,  or  shot  by  them,  ex- 
cept through  casual  good  fortune ;  Indians  alone  having 
the  patience  and  instinctive  craft,  which  enables  them 
to  crawl  on  them  unseen,  unsmelt — for  the  nose  of  the 
Cariboo  can  detect  the  smallest  taint  upon  the  air  of 
any  tiling  human  at  least  two  miles  up  wind  of  him — and 
unsuspected.  If  he  takes  alarm  and  start  off  on  the  run 
no  one  dreams  of  pursuing.  As  well  pursue  the  wind, 
of  which  no  man  knoweth  whence  it  cometh  or  whither 
it  goeth.  Snow-shoes  against  him  alone  avail  little,  for 
propped  up  on  the  broad,  natural  snow-shoes  of  his  long, 
elastic  pasterns  and  wide  cleft  clacking  hoofs,  he  shoots 
over  the  crust  of  the  deepest  drifts,  unbroken ;  in  which 
the  lordly  moose  would  soon  flounder,  shoulder  deep,  if 
hard  pressed,  and  the  graceful  deer  would  fall  despair- 
ing, and  bleat  in  vain  for  mercy — but  he,  the  ship  of  the 
winter  wilderness,  outspeeds  the  wind  among  his  native 
pines  and  .tamaracks — even  as  the  desert  ship,  the  dron> 
edary,  outtrots  the  red  simoon  on  the  terrible  Zahara — 
and  once  started,  may  be  seen  no  more  by  human  eyes, 
nor  run  down  by  fleetest  feet  of  man,  no,  not  if  they 
pursue  him  from  their  nightly-casual  camps,  unwearied, 


50  AMERICAN   GAME. 

following  his  trail  by  tlie  day,  by  the  week,  by  the 
month,  till  a  fresh  snow  eiiaces  his  tracks,  and  leaves  the 
hunter  at  th^  last,  as  he  was  at  the  first  of  the  chase  ; 
less  only  the  fatigue,  the  disappointment  and  the  folly. 
Therefore,  by  woodsmen,  whether  white  or  red  skinned, 
he  is  followed  only  on  those  rare  occasions  when  snows  of 
unusual  depth  are  crusted  over  to  the  very  point  at 
which  they  will  not  quite  support  this  fleet  and  power- 
ful stag.  Then  the  toil  is  too  great  even  for  his  vast 
endurance,  and  he  can  be  run  down  by  the  speed  of  men, 
inured  to  the  sport,  and  to  the  hardships  of  the  wilder- 
ness, but  by  them  only.  Indians  by  hundreds  in  the 
provinces,  and  many  loggers  and  hunters  in  the  Eastern 
States,  can  take  and  keep  his  trail  in  suitable  weather — 
the  best  time  is  the  latter  end  of  February  or  the  begin- 
ning of  March  ;  the  best  weather  is  when  a  light,  fresh 
snow  of  some  three  or  four  inches  has  fallen  on  the  top 
of  deep  drifts  and  a  solid  crust ;  the  fresh  snow  giving 
the  means  of  following  the  trail ;  the  firm  crust  yielding 
a  support  to  the  broad  snow-shoes  and  enabling  the 
stalkers  to  trail  with  silence  and  celerity  combined. 
Then,  they  crawl  onward,  breathless  and  voiceless,  up 
wind  always,  following  the  foot  prints  of  the  wandering, 
pasturing,  wantoning  deer ;  judging  by  signs,  unmistak- 
able to  the  veteran  hunter,  undistinguishable  to  the 
novice,  of  the  distance  or  proximity  of  their  game,  until 
they  steal  upon  the  herd  unsuspected,  and  either  finish 
the  day  with  a  sure  shot  and  a  triumphant  whoop  ;  or 


THE   CAEIBOO.  31 

discover  that  the  game  has  taken  alarm  and  started  on 
the  jump,  and  so  give  it  np  in  despair. 

One  man  perhaps  in  a  thousand  can  still-hnnt,  or 
stalk,  Cariboo  in  the  summer  season.  He,  when  he  has 
discovered  a  herd  feeding  up  wind,  at  a  leisure  pace 
and  clearly  unalarmed,  stations  a  comrad  in  close  am- 
bush, well  down  wind  and  to  leeward  of  thfeir  upward 
track,  and  then  himself,  after  closely  observing  their 
mood,  motions  and  line  of  course,  strikes  off  in  a,  wide 
circle  well  to  leeward,  until  he  has  got  a  mile  or  two 
ahead  of  the  herd,  when  very  slowly  and  guardedly,  ob- 
serving the  profoundest  silence,  he  cuts  across  their 
direction,  and  gives  them  his  wind,  as  it  is  technically 
termed,  dead  ahead.  This  is  the  crisis  of  the  affair ;  if 
he  give  the  wind  too  strongly,  or  too  rashly,  if  he  make 
the  slightest  noise  or  motion,  they  scatter  in  an  instant, 
and  away.  If  he  give  it  slightly,  gradually,  and  casu- 
ally as  it  wxre,  not  fancying  themselves  pursued,  but 
merely  approached,  they  merely  turn  away  from  the  re- 
mote danger,  and  instead  of  flying,  feed  away  from  it, 
working  their  way  down  wind  to  the  deadly  ambush ,  of 
which  their  keenest  scent  cannot,  under  such  circum- 
stances, inform  them.  If  he  succeed  in  this  inch  by 
inch  he  crawls  after  them,  never  pressing  them,  or  draw- 
ing in  upon  them,  but  preserving  the  same  distance  still, 
still  giving  them  the  same  wind  as  at  the  first,  so  that  he 
creates  no  panic  or  confusion,  until  at  length,  when  close 
upon  the  hidden  peril,  his  sudden  whoop  sends  them 


32  AMfiEICAN   GAME. 

headlong  clown  tire  deceitful  breeze  upon  tlie  treaclier- 
ous  rifle. 

Of  all  wood-craft,  none  is  so  difficult,  none  requires  so 
rare  a  combination  as  tliis,  of  quickness  of  siglit,  wariness 
of  tread,  very  instinct  of  tlie  craft,  and  perfection  of 
judgment.  When  resorted  to,  and  performed  to  the  ad- 
miration even  of  woodmen,  it  docs  not  succeed  once  in  a 
hundred  times — therefore  not  by  one  man  in  a  thousand 
is  it  ever  resorted  to  at  all,  and  by  him,  rather  in  the 
wantonness  of  woqd-craft,  and  by  way  of  boastful  experi- 
ment, than  with  any  hope,  much  less  expectation  of  suc- 
cess. 

For  once,  in  my  illustration,  the  trick  has  been  played, 
and  the  game  wins — tlie  whoop  is  pealing  on  the  wind 
beyond  the  dark,  sheltering  pines  and  hemlocks — the 
herd  is  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven — ^but  the 
monarch  of  the  wilderness,  the  prime  bull  of  the  herd, 
bears  down  in  his  headlong  terror  full  on  the  ambushed 
rifle. 

Lo !  with  how  brave  a  bound  he  clears  that  prostrate 
log.  But  the  keen  eye  of  the  woodman  is  upon  him; 
another  moment,  and  it  shall  glare  along  the  (deadly 
rifle ;  the  sharp,  short  crack  shall  awake  the  echoes  of 
the  forest,  and  ere  they  shall  have  subsided  into  silence, 
the  pride  of  the  woods  shall  have  gasped  out  his  last 
sigh  on  the  gory  green-sward. 

But  this  you  will  say  is  fancy — scarcely  fact.  Be  it 
so.     What  follows  shall  be  fact,  not  fancy.     For  I  shall 


THE    CAKIBOO.  38 

beg  leave  to  quote  a  few  pages  from  Porter's  Hawker  by 
that "  Meadows,"  whom  I  have  already  mentioned — since 
his  is  the  best  description  of  this  noble  sport  extant ; 
since  to  reproduce  it,  giving  his  thoughts  in  my  own 
altered  words  were  worse  than  plagiary ;  and  since,  if  it 
meet  his  eye,  he  will  be  rather  pleased  than  hurt  that  I 
have  winged  his  words  into  a  wider  field,  and  to  a  larger 
audience  than  he  at  first  addressed  them. 

I  will  premise  only,  that  "  Howard,"  who  figures  as  the 
hero,  is  a  I^ew  Brunswicker,  in  New  Brunswick ;  "  Mea- 
dows," the  narrator,  an  English  tyro  visiting  his  friend  in 
the  province ;  Sabatisie,  a  Micmac  Indian,  henchman  and 
guide  of  Meadows ;  and  Billy,  last  not  least,  Howard's 
pet  bull-terrier.  Scene,  daybreak !  they  have  issued 
from  the  camp  close  to  the  hunting-ground  where  the 
Cariboo  are  supposed  to  "  won" — as  Chaucer  would  have 
written  it — when  lo !  quoth  Meadows-^- 

"  After  a  hearty  meal,  every  thing  being  ready,  we 
mounted  our  snow-shoes  and  marched.  The  first  golden 
rays  were  just  struggling  through  the  gray  East,  and 
dispersing  the  thick  mist  which  hung  over  our  camp,  as 
I  strode  forth  on  my  first  Cariboo  hunt,  my  heart  leaping 
in  anxious  anticipation,  and  my  nerves  strung  by  the 
healthy  atmosphere.  We  proceeded  in  silence,  and  had 
ample  time  to.  observe  the  lonely  grandeur  of  the  sur- 
rounding forest ;  the  death-like  stillness  enlivened  only 
by  the  cheerful  chirp  of  the  active  ground-squirrel,  or 
the  loud  boring  of  that  most  beautiful  of  woodpeckers, 


34:  AMERICAN    GAME. 

tlie  Hid.  We  ci'ossed  Cariboo  tracks  at  every  step,  but 
still  tlie  Indian  proceeded,  his  quick  eye  glancing  at 
every  trail.  After  about  an  hour's  walk,  we  found  our- 
selves ascending  a  steep  mountain.  Here  the  Indian 
came  to  a  halt :  in  a  low  tone  he  told  us  that  we  were 
now  near  the  Cariboo  ground,  this  being  the  warm  side 
of  the  hill,  and  good  feeding  ground ;  cautioning  us  to  be 
quiet,  w^e  again  advanced^  but  had  not  gone  far  before 
we  came  to  a  trail  that  the  Indian  said  was  only  made 
last  night.  Sabatisie  chose  the  outside  track  of  the  herd, 
to  take  the  wind — which,  having  followed  about  three 
miles,  brought  us  to  where  the  Cariboo  had  rested  during 
the  night.  Tom  placed  his  hand  on  the  damp  snow,  and 
remarked  that  the  Cariboo  had  not  been  up  much  before 
ns,  and  could  not  be  far  off. 

"  Kiiles  were  now  examined,  and  fresh  caps  put  on— 
Billy  secured  by  a  cord  to  Howard's  belt.  The  tracks 
from  the  resting-place  of  the  Cariboo  branched  off  in 
every  direction  ;  and  the  Indian  leaving  us,  took  a  east 
round,  some  distance,  and  having  ascertained  the  direc- 
tion the  herd  had  taken,  he  returned,  and  we  cautiously- 
followed  him.  I  now  perceived  that  at  the  bottom  of 
the  tracks  the  snow  was  a  deep  blue,  and  quite  soft ;  we 
were  therefore  quite  near  the  game.  Sabatisie  halted 
and  took  off  his  snow-shoes  that  he  might  proceed  with 
less  noise.  Howard  beckoned  me  to  him,  and  in  a  low 
whisper  said — '  Do  exactly  as  you  see  me  do — follow 


THE   CARIBOO.  35 

close  upon  my  track,  and  do  not  for  your  life  make  tlie 
sliglitest  noise — we  are  close  on  tliem !' 

"  Sabatisie  and  Howard  now  slung  tlieir  snow-slioes 
on  their  backs :  to  prevent  the  crackling  of  the  crust, 
tlie  Indian  with  his  fingers  broke  the  snow  before  him, 
and  placing  his  foot  in  the  hole  he  made,  quietly  ad- 
vanced— Howard  putting  his  in  the  track  the  Indian  had 
left,  I  mine  in  Howard's.     By  this  means  we  proceeded 
without  the  slightest  noise ;  and  as  our  movements  were 
simultaneous,  we  should  to  a  person  in  front  appear  as 
one  body.     Our  situation  was  anything  but  agreeable, 
uj)  to  the  waist  in  snow.     The  trail  became  every  mo- 
ment more  fresh,  and  the  eagle  eye  of  our  sagacious 
guide  pried  far  into  the  depths  of  the  forest  in  front. 
Suddenly  he  cast  himself  at  full  length  on  the  snow,  and 
remained  so  long  in  that  position  that  I  innocently  thrust 
my  head  out  of  the  line  to  see  what  was  the  matter ;  but 
the  Indian  glared  at  me  with  anger  and  contempt,  and 
Howard's  sign  recalled  my  senses.     In  front,  the  wood 
being  quite  open,  Sabatisie  had  seen  the  Cariboo,  and 
now  made  for  a  large  pine  to  shelter  his  approach.    His 
movements,  as  he  dragged  himself  along  on  his  belly  in 
the  snow,  were  snake-like ;  and  we  followed,  endeavoring 
as  far  as  possible  to  imitate  his  very  interesting  contor- 
tions.     At  last  I  caught  sight  of  the  game.    They  were 
a  large  herd  of  18  or  20 — some  rubbing  the  bark  from 
the  branches — others  performing  their  morning  toilet, 
licking  their  dark-brown,  glossy  jackets,  and  combing 


36  AJSIEKICAN   GA3IE. 

0 

tliem  with  tlieir  noble  antlers.  All  appeared  uncon- 
scious of  tlie  approach  of  tlieir  mo^t  deadly  foes,  save 
one  noble  bull,  tlie  leader  of  the  herd.  He  seemed  sus- 
picions— with  head  erect,  eyes  dartiDgin  every  direction, 
ears  wagging  to  and  fro,  and  nostril  expanded,  he  snuffed 
the  breeze.  Upon  this  splendid  creature  the  Indian  kept 
his  eye,  never  venturing  to  move,  save  when  the  head 
of  the  Cariboo  was  turned  away.  Inch  by  inch  we  ap- 
proached the  tree.  Oh !  the  agony  of  suspense  I  suf- 
fered in  those  few  minutes  ! 

"At  length  we  reached  our  shelter.     ISTo  time  was" 
lost.      Howard  signed  to  me  to  single  out  a  Cariboo, 
while  he  took  the  noble  leader,  which  was  about  100 
yards  distant — the  Indian  reserving  his  fire.     We  sta- 
tioned ourselves  each  side  of  the  tree,  and  our  rifles 
exploded  almost  at  the  same  moinent.     Springing  up  to 
see  the  effect  of  my  shot,  I  was  pulled  down  by  the 
Indian;    what  was   my  astonishment  to  see   the   bull 
Howard  had  fired  at,  stamping  the  snow  and  gazing 
around,  with  fire  and  rage  in  his  eye,  in  search  of  his 
hidden  enemy.     As  I  looked  at  his  formidable  antlers, 
his  majestic  height,  and  great  strength — a  thought  of 
our  helpless  situation  crossed  my  mind.      The  Indian 
now  rested  his  gun  quietly  on  the  tree,  and  took  a  long, 
steady  aim — the  cap  alone  exploded  with  a  sharp  crack ! 
Quick  as  lightning  the  bull  discovered  our  ambush,  and 
with  a  loud  snort  made  directly  for  us.     Defence  or  re- 
ti-eat  against  such  a  foe,  in  our  situation,  up  to  the"  waist 


THE   OAEIBOO.  37 

in  snow,  was  almost  impossible.     In  another  bound  tlie 
antlers  of  the  enraged  beast  wonld  have  been  in   my 
side,  when  our  gallant^  little  dog  dashed  forward  and 
seized  the  bull  by  the  muzzle.     Sabatisie  and  Howard 
were  busily  employed  putting  on  their  snow-shoes  ;  and 
I  endeavored  to  do  the  same,  but  with  little  success. 
The  dog  had  lucidly  checked  the  beast,  but  he  was  no 
match  for  the  enormous  strength  and  wonderful  activity 
of  his  adversary.     Tossing  his  head,  the  Cariboo  beat 
the  poor  little  fellow  on  the'  snow  and  against  the  tree, 
till  I  thought  every  bone  was  broken.     Finding  this  of 
no  avail,  the  bull  reared,  and  with  his  fore-legs  dealt 
such  a  shower  of  quick  and  powerful  blows,  that  I  ex- 
pected to  see  the  dog  drop  every  minute.     While  the 
Cariboo  was  in  this  position,  the  Indian  approached  him 
behind  and  endeavored  to  hamstring  him.     But  the  eye 
of  the  bull  was  too  quick  ;   wheeling  like  lightning,  he 
made  a  rush  at  Sabatisie  which  must  have  been  serious, 
but  was  avoided  by  his  falling  flat  on  his  face,  the  Ca- 
riboo passing  over  him  and  wounding  his  back.     Mean- 
while Howard  had  loaded,  but  his  rifle  having  become 
wet,  he  could  not  discharge  it.     The  violent  exertions  of 
the  Cariboo  had  by  this  time  broke  the  hold  of  the  dog, 
and  the  furious  beast  now  turned  to  the  prostrate  Indian 
— ^but  before  he  could  reach  his  prey,  the  dog  was  again 
at  his  head,  checking,  but  not  stopping  his  mad  career. 
Sabatisie  on  his  knee   received  the  shock,  and  at   the 
moment  grasping  the  bull  by  the  antlers,  brought  him 


38  AMERICAN   GA:ME. 

down ;  wlien  Howard  sprung  forward  and  plunged  his 
knife  to  the  hilt  in  the  breast  of  the  Cariboo.  With  a 
last  mighty  eifort,  the  noble  creature  dashed  the  Indian 
in  the  air,  and  the  next  moment  his  own  strong  limbs 
were  quivering  in  death. 

"  From  the  commencement  of  this  burst,  I  confess,  I 
was  a  little  agitated — so  much  so,  that  I  had  not  coolness 
sufficient  to  tie  on  my  snow-shoes,  or  load  my  rifle ;  but 
let  not  any  blame  me  until  they  themselves  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  being  placed  in  the  same  delicate  situa- 
tion, up  to  the  waist  in  snow,  and  one  of  those  emperors 
of  the  deer  tribe  dancing  round  in  mad  fury,  threatening 
instant  annihilation.  On  examination,  we  found  How- 
ard's ball  had  taken  effect  just  behind  the  shoulder,  and 
would  have  caused  death  in  a  §hort  time. 

"  '  Hillo !  old  boy,  are  you  hurt  V  said  Tom  Howard, 
seeing  the  Indian  still  on  his  back. 

" '  Cariboo  sartain  hery  sti^ong^  grunted  the  poor 
fellow.  His  back  was  much  lacerated.  'Brother  cut 
some  giuii,  and  soon  be  well,'  said  Sabatisie. 

"  Howard  gathered  some  balsam  formed  by  the  sap 
running  from  the  bark  of  the  fir-tree,  and  spreading  it 
on  a  piece  of  his  handkerchief,  formed  a  strong  adhesive 
plaster — staunching  the  blood,  he  placed  it  on  the 
wound. 

" '  And  now,  Meadows,  what  has  become  of  your 
game — think  he  is  hit  V 

"  *  Yes,  by  Jove,  I'll  bet  my  rifle  to  a  pop-gun  he  is— 


THE   CAEIBOO.  39 

for  see,  Billy  has  settled  down  on  his  track,  and  is  in 
chase. 

"  '  On  with  your  snow-shoes,  and  away ! — ^the  track 
with  the  blood  will  be  plain  as  a  van  wagon — if  you 
come  up  with  the  Cariboo,  do  not  fire  unless  you  are 
sure  to  kill.  I  must  stop  and  see  if  the  Indian  is  much 
hurt,  and  swab  out  my  rifle — ^but  I  will  soon  overtake 
you — away  now !' 

"  So  urged,  I  started  off,  and  found  large  drops  of 
blood  on  the  track  the  prime  little  dog  had  taken.  As  I 
proceeded,  I  saw  the  strides  of  the  Cariboo  were  shorter, 
and  he  had  been  down  several  times.  As  I  pressed  on, 
in  great  hopes  of  overtaking  the  game  before  Howard 
came  up,  I  observed  the  Cariboo  had  made  for  the  valley, 
and  after  a  sharp  walk  of  an  hour,  I  came  to  the  stream, 
which  was  open.  Here  I  lost  the  track,  but  saw  the 
marks  of  the  dog  down  the  stream — these  I  followed, 
and  soon  heard  the  baying  of  the  dog.  As  I  proceeded, 
the  river  was  every  moment  more  rapid.  After  a  sharp 
turn  the  stream  was  compressed  between  two  huge  cliffs, 
and  rushed  down  a  water-gap,  forming  a  cascade  of  nearly 
one  hundred  feet.  To  the  very  verge  of  the  fall  the 
river  was  open ;  but  over  the  fall  itself  there  was  a  thin 
coating  of  transparent  ice,  which  clung  to  the  perpen- 
dicular cliffs  on  each  side  of  the  narrow  gap,  forming  a 
gauze-like  veil.  The  towering  cliffs  around  were  covered 
with  a  frosting  of  ice ;  and  from  the  stunted  pines  which 
clung  to  the  barren  rock,  hung  myriads   of  fantastic 


^  AMERIOAl^   GAME. 

icicles.  At  the  foot  of  tlie  fall,  the  blue  water  riislied 
out,  dashing  the  white  foam  many  feet  in  the  air;  and 
through  the  thick  woods  which  overhung  the  cascade, 
the  sun  cast  his  rays  upon  the  gorgeous  prospect,  making 
every  object  throw  forth  a  thousand  brilliant  shades, 
and  the  gjittering  ice  which  encircled  the  fall  was  so 
transparent,  that  the  blue  water  could  be  seen  beneath 
dashing  furiously  down,  as  if  enraged  at  restraint.  E^ot 
ten  feet  from  the  verge  of  the  fall,  on  a  rock  in  the 
centre  of  the  river,  stood  the  wounded  Cariboo.  The 
water  around  him  was  fearfully  rapid — one  false  step 
w^ould  carry  him  under  the  ice,  and  down  the  fall.  On 
the  bank  stood  the  dog :  my  first  care  was  to,  secure  him, 
as  he  appeared  ready  every  instant  to  make  a  spring 
that  must  have  been  fatal.  The  Cariboo  had  chosen  a 
most  admirable  place  of  retreat ;  nothing  living  could, 
approach  him  with  safety.  On  each  side  the  perpen- 
dicular cliffs  towered  many  feet  over  his  head — before 
him  the  roaring  torrent,  and  behind  the  ice-bound  cata- 
ract. After  feastilig  my  eyes  on  this  wild  and  romantic 
scene,  I  approached  as  near  the  fall  as  the  rugged  cliff 
would  permit.  The  Cariboo  saw  me,  and  with  glaring 
eye-balls  he  shook  his  branching  antlers  in  impotent 
rage,  presenting  to  my  rifle  his  broad  front,  as  in  defi- 
ance. I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  I  was  hapj)y  when  I 
glanced  at  the  rapid  water  and  rugged  cliff'  between  me 
and  my  devoted  j)rey  ;  for  I  have  no  doubt,  had  it  been 
in  his  power  he  would  have  soon  shortened  the  distance 


THE   CAEIBOO.  41 

Detween  us — and  after  wliat  I  liad  so  lately  witnessed,  I 
Lad  no  very  great  desire  (seeing  I  was  not  as  yet  a  perfect 
harlequin  on  snow-shoes,)  to  play  the  same  game  over 
again  with  my  friend  on  the  rock.  To  pnt  an  end  to  his 
wishes  and  my  fears,  I  presented.  My  ball  took  effect 
directly  in  his  brain,  and  he"  quietly  dropped  into  the 
stream,  leaving  me  master  of  the  field.  The  next  mo- 
ment I  could  see,  through  the  transparent  ice,  his  glossy 
hide  gliding  down  the  cascade." 

Amiable  reader,  thus  it  was  that  "  Meadows"  slew  his 
first  Cariboo ;  and  thus,  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  kill 
mine,  or  ere  a  year  be  flown.  If  I  do,  believe  me,  I  will 
try  to  tell  you  how  I  did  it,  as  well — ^better  I  may  not 
tell  you — as  Meadows.  And  so,  until  next  month,  fare 
you  well ! 


II. 

FEBSUARY. 


Cerou&  Alces. 

NORTHERN    WILDERNESS,    BEYOND    THE    OTTAWA;     NEW- 
FOUNDLAND   TO    NEW   YORK. 


Anas  Canadensis. 

NORTH  AMERICA,  ARCTIC  REGIONS,  MOUTHS  OF  THE 
MISSISSIPPI. 


^^^'J-  / 


THE  MOOSE  DEER. 

Cervus  Alces, 

This  gigantic  deer,  the  largest  of  all -the  deer  tribe,  and 
wliicli  is  distinguished  from  all  others  not  only  by  the 
magnificence  of  its  dimensions,  but  by  the  fact  that  it  is 
the  only  one  of  the  genus  which  is  uncouth  in  its  form, 
ungraceful  in  its  attitudes,  and  awkward  and  ungainly 
in  its  action  and  gait,  is  identical  in  every  respect  with 
the  Elk  of  Europe,  no  distinction  being  discernible  on 
the  closest  examination.  _It  must,  however,  on  no'  ac- 
count be  confounded  with  the  great  Wapiti  Beer,  or 
American  Elk,  Cervus  Canandensis^  as  it  is  in  every 
respect  different  and  distinct.  The  Moose-deer,  which 
derives  its  name  in  the  vernacular  from  its  appellation 
in  the  Algonquin  tongue,  musu,  is  entirely  a  ISTorthem, 
and  more  especially  a  JSTorth-Eastern  animal,  being  most 
abundant  in  the  British  Provinces  of  ]^ova  Scotia  and 
'New  Brunswick,  in  Maine,  the  northern  part  of  jSTew 
Hampshire,  and  the  Adirondack  Highlands  of  the  state 
of  New  York,  beyond  which  to  the  westward  it  is  never 
found  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  nor  I  think  is  there  any 
reason  to  believe  that  its  range  has  ever  extended  far  to 


46  AMERICAN   GAME. 

the  west  of  this  limit  or  southward  to  the  Atlantic  coast. 
In  Lower  Canada,  on  both  sides  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
below  Quebec,  and  on  the  north  side  so  far  as  to  Mon- 
treal, it  is  exceedingly  abundant,  but  to  the  westward  of 
that  city  it  is  rarely  if  ever  found  south  of  the  great 
Ottawa  river.  A  single  Moose  was  killed  during  the 
summer  of  1849  by  an  Ojibwa  Indian  on  the  Severn 
river,  which  debouches  into  the  north  side  of  the  great 
Georgian  Bay  of  Lake  Huron,  the  skull  of  which  I  saw 
myself,  and  it  was  asserted  by  the  Indians  generally, 
that  none  of  the  race  had  been  killed  within  the  last 
fifty  years,  at  nearly  which  distance  of  time  it  was  a 
traditional  belief  that  one  had  been  killed,  a  straggler, 
in  the  same  vicinity.  To  the  northward  of  this  they 
roam  as  far  toward  the  pole  as  the  forest  region  extends, 
the  Moose  being,  as  we  shall  see  when  we  come  to  speak 
of  his  structm-e  and  habits,  as  much  adapted  to  the 
forest,  as  is  the  American  Elk,  or  "Wapiti,  Cervus  Cana- 
densis^ to  the  j)rairie. 

The  original  limits  of  these  two  great  deer  would  seem 
to  have  been  originally  almost  identical  as  to  their 
frontiers,  the  one  beginning  exactly  where  the  other 
ceases  to  exist,  and  the  one  being  as  remarkably  a 
western  as  the  other  is  an  eastern  animal.  The  Elk  was 
found  originally  from  the  western  regions  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, if  not  throughout  all  the  inland  portions  of  that 
state,  through  all  the  intermediate  states,  a  little  way 
back  from  the  sea-board,  of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and 


THE   MOOSE   DEER.  47 

Tennessee,  in  all  of  which  it  has  now  ceased  to  exist,  to 
the  great  prairie  states  of  the  west  and  the  foot  of  the 
Kocky  Mountains,  in  many  of  which  it  is  still  found 
frequently,  although  it  cannot  be  said  to  abound  until 
you  pass  the  Mississippi  and  even  go  beyond  the  cross 
timbers.      Why  this   deer  ever  received   the  title  of 
Cerviis  Canadensis^  it  is  difficult  to  state,  as  I  find  no 
indication  of  its  ever  having  existed  in  Canada,  but  I 
fancy  it  has  arisen  from  a  mistaken  application  of  the 
French  teiin  Orignal,  or  Elk,  to  this  animal,  which  is 
beyond   doubt    really  applicable  to   the    Moose,   that 
animal  being,  in  fact,  as  I  have  observed,  the  Elk  of 
Europe,  and  having  the   flat  palmated  horns   of  that 
species,  whereas  the  Wapiti  has  the  round  branching 
antlers  of  the  red  deer  of  Europe,  Cermis  Elaplms^  to 
which  animal  it  bears  a  very  strong  analogy,  and  except 
in  its  vast  superiority  of  size,  closely  resembles. 

The  Moose  is  the  largest  of  all  the  deer  tribe,  an  old 
bull  standing  full  eighteen  hands  high  at  the  shoulder, 
or  six  feet  common  measure,  while  the  cows  do  not  fall 
short  of  fourteen  or  fifteen.  The  fore- legs  of  this  deer 
are  very  disproportionately  long  as  compared  to  the 
hind  legs,  and  the  shoulder  stands  so  much  higher  than 
the  rump,  that  at  a  casual  glance  you  would  suppose  the 
animal  to  be  standing  up  hill.  His  neck  is  so  short  and 
cumbrous  that  he  cannot  graze  on  the  ground  without 
much  difficulty,  straddling  his  fore-legs  very  wide  apart, 
axid  even  then  gathering  his  food  from  a  plain  surface 


48  AI^IEKICAX    GA^klE. 

witli  great  difficulty  and  even  pain ;  he  is  not,  however, 
a  grazing  animal  by  nature,  though  he  may  resort  to  it 
at  times,  from  whim  or  for  the  lack  of  other  means  of 
subsistence,  but  essentially  a  browser,  for  which  mode  of 
feeding  he  is  particularly  adapted,  being  in   a  lesser 
degree   of  the   same   structure  with   the   cameleopard, 
although  the  latter  is  loftier  and  far  more  exaggerated 
in  the  height  of  his  foreparts,  owing  to  the  immense 
altitude  of  the  trees — a  species  of  mimosa^ — 'which  afford 
his  favorite  nourishment.     Further  than  this,  the  huge, 
flexible,  prehensile  upper  lip  of  the  Moose,  which  he 
uses  nearly  as  an  elephant  does  his  trunk,  is  of  great 
service  to  him  in  collecting  the  leaves  and  tender  twigs 
of  the  birch  and  alder,  which,  with  the  tips  of  some  of 
the  evergreens,  are  his  choice  dainties.     In  the  summer 
season,  when  the  woods  are  alive  with  Pharaoh's  plague 
of  flies  and  musquitoes,  which  seem  to  devote  themselves 
with  particular  assiduity  to  the  tormenting  this  great 
giant  of  the  wilderness,  he  delights  to  resort  to  marshy 
pools  and  lakelets,  where  he  wades  out  till  his  head  is 
barely   above    the   surface,   and  lies   there   wallowing 
deliciously  all  day  long  in  the  pure  cold  waters,  safe 
from  his  winged  persecutors,  and  browses  in  security  on 
the  floating  leaves  and  buds  of  the  water-lilies  and  on 
tlie  aquatic  grasses  which  he  crops  as  he  swims  or  wades 
about  at  his  pleasure. 

The  horns,  for  antlers  they  cannot  correctly  be  called, 
of  the  male  are  an  enormous  and  apparently  useless 


THE   MOOSE   DEEE.  4:9 

apparatus,  for  tlie  bull  Moose  lights  principally  with  liis 
huge,  cleeply-cloven  hoofs,  which  he  handles  with  great 
dexterity,  and  with  which  he  can  inflict  very  heavy 
bjows.     They  often  weigh  from  fifty-six  to  sixty  pounds 
the  pair,  and  present  a  flat  palmated  surface,  intersected 
upwardly  by  irregular  ribs  or  ridges,  each  terminating 
in  a  short  snag  or  rounded  point,  one  of  which  is  added 
every  year  until  they  attain  their-  full   stature.     The 
weight  of  these  is  enormous,  and  accordingly  when  the 
animal    runs,   which  he   does   at   a  heavy,    awkward, 
shambling  trot,  he  thrusts  his  nose  high  into  the  air, 
with  his  short,  sturdy  neck  pointed  upward,  so  that  the 
horns  are  rested  in  some  degree  upon  the  back,  partly  it 
may  be  supposed  for  the  purpose  of  support,  and  partly 
to  avoid  entanglement  among  the  branches  and  thick-set 
stems  of  the  cedar-swamps  which  they  most  frequent. 
These  horns  they  shed  annually  in  the  spring  of  the 
year,  and  annually  renew,  the  surface  being  covered 
with  a  soft  velvet-like  fungus,  while  tliey  are  young  and 
tender,  and  gaining  hardness  and  consistency  till  in  the 
rutting  season,  which  occurs  in  the  latter  summer  and  early 
autumn,  they  are  perfect  in  size  and  formidable  as  wea- 
pons of  offence.     At  this  period  the  bulls  may  be  heard 
roaring  and  bellowing  throughout  the  mountain  gorges  of 
the  ranges  which   they  frequent,  in  the  evening  espe- 
cially, and  in  the  early  gray  of  dawn,  and  when  they  hear 
the  lowing  of  the  cows  they  come  crashing  through  the 
forests  with  fierce  and  amorous  heat ;  and  if  two  rival 
3 


50  AMERICAN   GAME. 

sultans  meet  in  the  presence  of  a  single  sultana,  woe  to 
the  weaker,  for  he  must  needs  go  to  the  wall  after  a 
desperate  conflict,  fought  out,  as  if  by  the  knights  of 
old,  in  the  presence  of  the  queen  of  love  if  not  of  beauty, 
whose  caresses  are  to  be  the  reward  of  the  victor. 

Of  this  propensity  foresters  take  advantage  in  the  sea- 
son, by  imitating  the  call  of  the  cow  Moose,  which  is 
easily  done  by  blowing  a  peculiar  note  through  a  com- 
mon cows-horn,  the  end  of  which  is  partially  immersed 
in  water,  or  on  a  trumpet  made  of  birch  or  alder  bark 
for  this  very  purpose  by  the  Indians,  who  are  gi;eat 
adepts  at  its  use,  and  rarely  fail  to  extract  a  reply  from 
the  bulls,  and  ultimately  to  lure  him  up  within  a  fevv^ 
feet  of  the  circle  of  hemlock-  or  cedar-boughs  among 
which  they  await  his  coming  full  of  amorous  fury  and 
proud  defiance,  with  the  ready  gun,  which  soon  levels 
his  branched  honors  in  the  dust. 

It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  two  bull  Moose  will 
be  attracted  by  the  same  call,  will  bellow  their  responses 
to  it  through  the  echoing  ravines  and  gorges,  and  will 
finally  tear  down  through  the  rent  and  crashing  under- 
wood, and  meeting  with  a  roar  of  defiance  do  battle  at 
outrance  in  the  presence  of  the  ambushed  enemy,  who 
watches  for  his  advantage  at  every  instant  of  the  fray, 
and  rarely  fails  to  bring  down  both  of  the  competitors 
for  an  imaginary  fair  one,  by  a  cowardly  and  ignoble 
triumph.  And  a  magnificent  spectacle  it  must  be  to 
witness,  alone  and  unassisted  in  the  depths  of  the  pri- 


THE   MOOSE   DEER.  61 

meval  forest,  in  the  gray  and  silvery  moonlight,  or  in  tlie 
pnrple  dawn  of  autumnal  morning,  the  fierce  and  noisy 
jousting  of  two  of  these  great  forest  champions. 

Tliere  is  another  mode  of  pursuing  these  great  deer 
during  the  summer  season,  when  they  wade  into  the 
deep  waters  to  eschew  the  myriads  of  flies,  which  is 
spoken  of  with  rapture  by  those  who  have  enjoyed  it — 
that  is,  to  make  the  wilderness  your  home,  your  hemlock- 
bed  and  bark-roofed  camp  your  dwelling-place,  and  with 
canoe,  and  rod,  and  rifle,  stealthily  to  paddle  along  the 
winding  water-courses,  keeping  as  much  as  possible 
within  the  shadows  of  the  shore,  and  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  overhanging  branches,  when  you  can  often 
•^al  up  within  easy  gun-shot  and  bring  them  down  with 
one  well-directed  bullet.  The  liberty,  the  independence, 
the  rapturous  excitement  of  this  sort  of  life  is  entirely 
indescribable  ;  the  delight  with  which  you  sleep  in  the 
free,  fresh,  odoriferous  air  of  the  forest,  with  your  soft, 
elastic  hemlock-bed — sure  preventive  of  all  rheumatic 
pains — ^beneath  you,  and  the  blue  vault,  with  all  its 
diamond  stars  ajbove  you;  the  zest  with  which  you 
enjoy  the  meal  of  fresh  trout  from  the  river,  or  sweet 
digestible  wild  meat  from  the  woods,  the  fruits  of  your 
own  prowess ;  the  health,  the  strength,  the  energy  of 
mind  and  body  which  you  earn  by  your  rugged  toil,  and 
rude  though  savory  food ;  the  perfeOt  sense  of  hardihood 
and  self-reliance,  which  you  derive  from  thus  owing 
every  thing  that  ministers  to  your  enjoyment,  to  your 


52  AMEKICAN   GAME. 

own  skill  and  manhood ;  then,  with  the  splendor  of  the 
American  autumn  weather,  and  the  gorgeous  woodland 
scenes  which  you  must  penetrate,  these  alone  would  pay 
you  for  your  toils ;  cares  there  are  none  in  the  woods, 
nor  anxieties,  nor  ailings,  nor  sorrows — for  these,  with 
the  ringing  of  door-bells  at  unseasonable  hours,  and  the 
advent  of  matutinal  duns,  not  to  bo  satisfied  save  with 
the  uttermost  farthing,  these  are  the  growth  of  cities, 
and  the  tormentors  of  the  civilized  and  cockney  gentle- 
man, unknown  to  the  forest,  and  set  at  easy  defiance  by 
its  hardy,  happy  inhabitant.  Oh  !  give  to  others  who 
will  it,  the  luxuries  of  city  life,  the  costly  banquets,  the 
rich  wines,  the  fascinations  of  women,  the  maddening 
excitement  of  play,  the  "  venerem,  et  plumas,  et  coenam 
Sardanapali,"  but  give  me  my  hemlock  shanty  for  my 
palace,  my  hemlock-bed  for  my  couch  of  down,  my  rifle 
for  my  mistress,  and  my  trusty  Indian  for  my  comrade 
and  my  guide  ;  and,  winter  or  summer,  scorching  sun  or 
deep-piled  snow,  the  wilderness,  give  me  the  wilderness. 
"  The  life  in  the  woods  for  me." 

When  winter  sets  in  cold  and  stern,  then  it  is  not  the 
Moose's  paradise — ^rather  it  is  his  anti-paradise,  and  the 
winter  of  his  discontent  made  glorious  summer  to  his 
adversaries,  who  then  hug  hope  to  run  him  down  by 
their  strength  of  wind  and  limb,  and  to  conquer  him  by 
open  force  and  no  unmanly  fraud  or  base  deceptions. 

"Well  aware  that  he  cannot  travel  safely  or  feed  easily 
and  plentifully,  when  his  goings  to  and  fro  are  converted 


THE   MOOSE   DEEK.  SB 

inful  flounderings  tlirougli  deej)  snow-drifts,  or  yet 
j^^ainful  plungings  and  breakings  through  the  sur- 
crusted  with  glassy  ice,  when  the  trees  on  which  to 
...jwse  are  few  and  far  between,  no  sooner  do  the  first 
snows  begin  to  fall  than  the  Moose  resort  to  one  of  two 
plans,  each  equally  ingenious  and  equally  adapted  to  the 
nature  of  the  ground  for  which  they  are  intended.  If  a 
bull  intends  wintering  by  himself,  as  sometimes  occurs, 
wherefore  we  know  not ;  he  seeks  out  some  hill,  and 
crosses  and  recrosses  it  a  hundred  times  from  summit  to 
base,  and  from  base  to  summit,  and  then  girdles  it  with 
a  hundred  of  parallels,  intersecting  the  perpendiculars, 
all  of  slowly  made  and  deeply  trodden  foot-paths, 
trampled  down  and  beaten  again,  after  each  fresh  suc- 
ceeding snow-fall,  till  the  whole  snowy  hill  is  cut  up  and 
checkered  into  a  net-work  of  firm,  hard-trotted  paths, 
along  which  he  can  travel  at  whatever  pace  he  lists, 
whether  lazily  lounge  along  to  browse  on  the  succulent 
shoots,  or  pounding  away  at  his  hard  swinging  trot,  with 
his  wide-spread  hoofs  crackling  at  every  track,  in  lull 
flight  from  his  pursuers,  at  a  rate  of  eight  or  nine  miles 
an  hour,  with  the  advantage  still  of  feeding  as  he  goes, 
snatching  a  juicy  morsel  from  every  favorite  bush  as  he 
dashes  along. 

When  the  Moose  adopts  this  mode  of  wintering,  unless 
the  party  of  hunters  is  suificiently  strong  to  post  a  num- 
ber of  persons  on  different  stands  along  the  Moose-paths 
to  intercept  him  as  he  tracks  their  labyrinthine  ways,  it 


54  AMERICAIJ   GAME. 

avails  little  or  nothing  to  attempt  him ;  for  having  many- 
miles  of  hard-trodden  j)aths  on  which  to  run,  while  his 
pursuers  cannot  follow  them  on  account  of  their  narrow- 
ness, but  must  blunder  along  their  sides  on  snow-shoes, 
with  little  or  no  chance  of  tracking  him,  since  the  paths 
are  so  hard  as  to  receive  no  impress  from  his  hoofs,  he 
will  keep  on  running,  a  half-mile  or  so  ahead  of  pursu- 
ers, without  hurrying  himself  beyond  his  need  till  he  shall 
worry  out  the  strongest  hunter,  and  so  escape  shot-free. 

The  more  usual  method,  however,  for  them  to  winter, 
is  by  yarding,  as  _it  is  termed,  or  collecting  into  small 
bands  or  droves  of  greater  or  smaller  numbers,  but  con- 
sisting in  general  of  one  old  bull,  two  or  three 
younger  males,  three  or  four  cows,  and  the  calves  of 
several  years  accompanying  their  dams — for  it  is  not 
usual  for  the  young  to  quit  the  cows  until  they  are  two 
or  three  years  old — and  then  forming  yards,  or  large 
spaces,  well  and  regularly  trampled  down  so  as  to  be 
sunk  between  walls  of  snow  several  feet  in  height,  con- 
taining within  their  area  trees  and  shrubs  enough  to 
afford  ample  pasture  for  the  herd  during  the  whole  con- 
tinuance of  the  cold  weather,  and  from  these  they  never 
stir  until  the  return  of  soft  spring-time  and  the  melting 
of  the  snows. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  state,  that,  in  the  oj)inion 
of  many  of  the  best  naturalists  and  foresters  of 
this  country,  the  two  habits,  alluded  to  above,  as  path- 
making  and  yarding,  are  in  ti'utli  accidental  matters,  and 


TDE   MOOSE   DEER.  65 

the  fortuitous  result  of  circumstances,  rather  than  any 
peculiarities  of  instinct  or  sagacity  in  the  animals  to 
which  they  are  ascribed. 

These  persons  contend  that  the  net-work  of  paths,  after 
the  manner  described  above,  intersecting  and  checkering 
whole  mountain-sides,  are  naturally  produced  by  the  rov- 
ing perambulations  of  the  great  deer ;  and  are  not  made 
by  him,  with  any  design  of  future  facilities  in  obtaining 
forage,  but  simply  in  the  course  of  present  search  for  it. 

Farther,  they  declare  that  the  yards  are  not  formed,  or 
even  used,  as  a  temporary  winter  habitation,  from  which 
tlie  animals  do  not  wander  during  the  continuance  of 
cold  weather ;  but  attribute  their  occurrence  merely  to 
the  unavoidable  stamping  to  and  of  a  family,  or  a  small 
herd,'  of  these  noble  cervines,  over  the  snowy  surface  of 
some  spot  which  has  casually  attracted  them  by  the 
abundance  of  succulent  food  offered  by  its  underwood ; 
and  that  they  quit  such  places,  from  time  to  time,  in 
their  ordinary  rambles;  and  entirely,  for  another  and 
better  place,  so  soon  as  its  supplies  are  exhausted.  This, 
I  regard,  the  truer  and  more  philosophic  view. 

These  yards  are  carefully  hunted  out  by  the  Canadian 
Indians,  and  the  tidings  are  brought  into  the  garrison 
towns,  and  received  with  a  perfect  burst  of  enthusiasm 
by  the  officers  of  her  majesty's  regiments  quartered  there, 
and  having  little  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  winter,  ex- 
cept curling  or  tandem-driving,  unless  wlien  a  chance  of 
a  Moose-hunt  raises  a  gay  alarum. 


56  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

Kifles  are  liimted  up,  and  bullets  run,  snow-slioes  are 
btitrkled  on,  and  the  green-liorns  excite  great  sport  for 
tlie  old  stagers,  by  kicking  tlieir  owji  sliins,  and  tumbling 
on  their  own  noses  at  every  second  stride.  Blankets,  and 
baskets  of  provision,  not  forgetting  the  ammunition,  the 
sj^irit-flasks,  the  tobacco-pipes,  and  the  tea-kettle,  are 
packed  upon  the  tobogins,  or  Indian  sledges,  made  of 
l^glit  wood,  to  be  drawn  by  the  red-hunters  through  the 
open  forests,  and  then  away  for  the  wild,  broad,  bound- 
less snow-clad  wilderness — the  hard  tramp  by  day,  the 
blazing  camp-fire,  the  leafy  bed,  the  fragrant  pipe,  and 
the  flowing  bowl  at  nig'at,  and  the  sleep  as  sound  and  as 
warm  beside  the  roaring  i)yi'e,  with  an  untented  heaven 
above,  and  a  temj)erature  40  degrees  below  you,  as 
though  it  were  taken  in  a  silken  chamber,  pillowed  on 
down  and  canopied  with  velvet. 

And  now  the  yard  is  reached,  and  one,  or  perhaps  two 
deliberate  and  murderous  shots  are  fired,  and  then  away 
through  the  treacherous  snow-drifts,  away  over  the  de- 
ceitful ice-crusts  flounder  the  huge  beasts  at  their  speed 
in  mortal  terror.  Away,  hard  on  their  traces,  flying  on 
fleet  snow-shoes,  follow  the  impetuous  and  shouting 
hunters. 

Sometimes  for  days  that  headlong  chase  endures,  the 

weary  beasts  and  worn-out  men,  lying  up  or  encamping, 

perhaps  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  asunder,  when  light  fails 

them  and  they  can  run  no  longer,  and  with  the  break  of 

.  dawn  renewing  the  wild  career  for  life  or  death,  for  de- 


THE   MOOSE   DEEK.  5Y 

feat  or  ignominious  gloiy.  Tliat  is  no  sport  for  boys  or 
striplings,  but  hard  work  for  strong,  stout-hearted  men. 
But  the  science  and  the  pluck  of  man  prevails  in  the 
end ;  one  by  one  the  beasts  are  overhauled,  the  heaviest 
first  and  the  weakest,  a  rifle-shot,  and  a  shrill  ''who- 
whoop"  announces  the  fall  of  the  forest  king — a  slash 
of  the  keen  knife  steeps  the  snow  with  his  life-blood,  and 
away,  away,  over  the  crackling  crust,  with  the  keen  win- 
ter's wind  warming  itself  against  your  face,  and  your 
heart  thrilling  with  a  rapture  unknown  to  the  laggard 
loungers  of  city  sidewalks,  unsuspected  by  the  sordid 
and  selfish  voluptuary. 

Such,  friends,  is  the  winter  Moose-hunt  of  the  Cana- 
dian -wilderness.  Try  it,  friends,  once,  and  my  life  on  it, 
each  succeeding  winter  will  find  you  rifle  in  hand,  and 
snow-shoe  on  foot,  in  the  interminable  forest  northward 
of  Quebec,  stretching  thence  on  unbroken  to  the  Arctic 
seas — for  verily  it  is  the  king  of  American  field-sports. 


THE  CANADA  GOOSE. 

Anobs  Canadensis, 

This  is  the  bird  known  universally  throughout  this 
continent,  as  the  Wild-Goose,  and  jet,  although  that  is 
not  in  truth  his  correct  apellation,  we  do  not  in  this 
instance  very  particularly  demur  to  it ;  since  it  is  by 
very  far  the  most  important  of  all  tlie  species  of  this 
genus,  which  visit  our  shored.  The  term  Wild-Goose  is 
properly  applied  to  the  Gray  Lag' Goose  of  Europe,  which 
is  beyond  any  doubt  the  stock  whence  is  derived  the 
common  domestic  goose  of  our  barn-yards,  and  which 
precisely  resembles  the  tame  bird,  with  the  exception 
that  the  ganders  do  not  become  white  among  the  wild 
fowl ;  on  this,  however,  no  distinction  of  origin  can  be 
supported;  for  it  is  well  understood  that  one  of  the  con- 
sequences of  domestication,  is  that  in  the  process  of  gen- 
erations it  converts  animals,  which  are  unicolored  in  their 
natural  state,  to  piebalds,  dapples,  and  various  new 
colors,  in  their  artificial  condition. 

The  true  name  of  this  bird  is  the  Canada  Goose ;  a 
title  which  was  fijiven  to  it  under  the  impression  that  it^ 


THE   CANADA   GOOSE.  59 

breeding-grounds  lay  in  that  country,  and  in  tlie  vicinity 
of  the  Great  Lakes.  Since  the  period,  however,  when 
those  provinces  have  become  more  thickly  settled,  more 
observation  has  been  bestowed  on  the  haunts,  habits,  and 
migrations  of  birds  ;  and  it  is  now  well  ascertained  that, 
although  a  few  stragglers  may  breed  in  various  seques- 
tered spots  both  in  the  States  and  in  the  Canadas,  all  the 
main  hordes  proceed  still  northward  beyond  the  utmost 
habitations  of  man,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Ai'ctic  Cir- 
cle, perhaps  beyond  the  Pole  itself,  there  to  nestle  and 
rear  the  young  in  the  untrodden  solitudes,  where  no 
breath  of  humanity  has  ever  polluted  the  pure  air,  amid 
the  brief  but  delicious  summer  of  the  polar  regions, 
where  they  rejoice — to  quote  the  eloquent  words  of  Mr. 
Giraud,  in  his  birds  of  Long  Island — where  they  rejoice 
in  "  the  absence  of  that  great  destroyer,  rain,  while  the 
splendors  of  a  perpetual  dry  May  render  such  regions 
the  most  suitable  to  their  purpose." 

The  Canada  Goose,  though  rare,  is  not  unknown  in 
Northern  Europe,  or  even  in  England,  where  it  is  very 
frequently  domesticated  as  an  ornament  on  artificial 
lakes,  within  the  bounds  of  parks  and  pleasure-grounds. 
In  unusually  severe  winters,  it  is  sometimes  killed  on  the 
sea-coasts  and  on  the  inland  lakes  of  Scotland,  and 
the  north-eastern  parts  of  England,  though  not  in  such 
numbers  as  to  constitute  it  an  object  of  regular  pursuit. 
Kor  is  its  flesh  there  considered  a  luxury,  whether  that 
from  change  of  climate  and  diet,  it  really  becomes  rank 


60  AMERICAIT  GAME. 

and  unpalatable/ or  that  whim  and  fashion  in  this  case 
rule  the  roast. 

Certain  it  is  that,  here,  it  is  one  of  our  best  sea-shore 
wild  fowl,  mejudice  the  very  best;  for  its  flesh  is  succu- 
lent and  juicj,  never  rank  or  fishy,  not  even  sedgy,  and, 
when  hung  long  enough  in  frosty  weather,  as  tender  as 
the  tenderest,  even  in  the  old  ganders,  which  many  per- 
sons consider  an  abomination. 

The  breeding-grounds  of  the  Canada  Goose,  have  never 
as  yet  been,  and  probably  never  will  be  ascertained  oth- 
erwise than  negatively,  as  they  lie,  doubtless,  beyond  the 
reach  of  man's  all-daring  footstep,  there  being  no  point 
however  northerly,  to  which  the  bold  discoverers  of  the 
highest  latitudes  have  penetrated,  at  which  the  Goose 
has  not  been  observed  still  wending  his  way  northward, 
ever  northward.  ''  They  were  seen  by  Hearne,"  says 
Wilson,  in  his  American  Ornithology,  "  within  the  Arc- 
tic Circle,  and  were  then  pursuing  their  way  still  farther 
north.  Captain  Phipps  speaks  of  seeing  Wild  Geese 
feeding  at  the  water's  edge  on  the  dreary  coast  of  Spitz- 
bergen,  in  lat.  80°  27'.  It  is  highly  probable  that  they  ex- 
tend their  migrations  to  the  Pole  itself,  amid  the  silent 
desolations  of  unknown  countries,  shut  out  since  the  crea- 
tion to  the  prying  eye  of  man  by  everlasting  and  insu- 
perable barriers  of  ice." 

Throughout  the  United  States  and  the  British  provinces 
from  the  Straits  of  Belli sle  and  the  Gut  of  Canso  east- 
ward, to  the  Osage  river  westward ;  the  biennial  migra- 


THE   CANADA  GOOSE.  61 

tions  of  tlie  Canada  Goose  are  well  known  to  all  ob- 
servant inhabitants ;  and  at  the  close  of  autumn  and  the 
opening  of  the  spring,  their  vast  phalanxes  are  seen 
wending  southward  and  northward,  with  the  regularity 
of  the  seasons  themselves,  cleaving  the  snow-laden  and 
misty  air  with  the  circular  sweep  of  their  heavy  pinions, 
and  opposing  to  the  currents  of  the  atmosphere  the 
arrowy  point  of  their  wedge-like  formations,  while  the 
hoarse  "honk"  of  the  leading  gander,  answered  again 
from  the  rear  of  the  battalia,  calls  the  attention  of  us 
groveling  earthlings  to  their  immeasurable  march, 
steadily  sweeping  onwards  thousands  of  yards  above  our 
pigmy  heads. 

Of  their  spring  flight,  as  they  return  from  the  mouths 
of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  great  unfrozen  lakes  and 
bayous  of  the  southwest  to  their  far  northern  homes, 
thus  eloquently  sung  their  own  appropriate  poet  laureat, 
the  well-beloved  and  long-lamented  sportsman  bai;fl, 
known  wheresoever  the  staunch  dog  is  followed,  and  the 
true  trigger  drawn,  as  J.  Cypress,  Jr. 

"  They  come,  they  tear  the  yielding  air  with  pennon  fierce  and  strong  ; 

On  clouds  they  leap  from  deep  to  deep,  the  vaulted  skies  along  ; 

Heaven's  light  horse,  in  a  column  of  attack  upon  the  pole. 

Was  ever  seen  on  ocean  green,  or  under  the  blue  sky, 

Such  disciplined  battalia  as  the  cohort  in  your  eye  ? 

Around  her  ancient  axis  let  old  Terra  proudly  roll, 

But  the  rushing  flight  that's  in  your  sight,  is  that  shall  wake  your  soul. 


02  AMERICAN   GAME. 

"  Hawnk !  honk  !  and  for'ard  to  the  nor'ard,  is  the  trumpet  tone, 

What  Goose  can  lag,  or  feather  flag,  or  break  the  goodly  cone 

Hawnk  !  onward  to  the  cool  blue  lakes  where  lie  our  safe  love-bowers ; 

No  stop,  no  drop  of  ocean  brine,  near  stool  or  hassock  hoary, 

Our  traveling  watchword  is  *  our  mate,s,  our  goslings  and  our  glory  /' 

Symsonia  and  Labrador  for  us  are  crowned  with  flowers. 

And  not  a  breast  on  wave  shall  rest,  untilr  that  heaven  is  ours. 

Hawnk !  Hawnk  !  E — e  Hawnk !" 

And  this,  "but  witL.  the  smallest  tincture  of  poetical 
extravagance  and  license,  is  a  fair  and  correct  picture  of 
their  vernal  northward  march ;  for  although  they  do  in 
truth  pay  us  of  the  midland  seaboards  a  short  visit  so 
soon  as  our  sea  bays  are  clear  of  ice,  and  do  occasionally 
"  stop,"  and  at  great  peril  to  themselves,  "  drop  by  stool 
or  hassock  hoary,"  still  their  spring  sojourn  with  us  is 
of  short  duration.  Early  in  April  they  collect  them- 
selves in  vast  flocks,  soar  skyward,  and  breaking  into 
wedge-shaped  phalanxes,  headed  by  the  strongest  gan- 
ders, which  are  hourly  relieved  by  their  comrades,  so 
that  each  of  the  males  in  his  turn  takes  his  share  of 
arduous  toil  of  breasting  foremost  the  resistance  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  opening  the  path  for  his  followers. 

Little  stint  they  of  force,  little  stay  make  they,  unless 
for  necessary  food  and  rest  by  Aight,  or  when  bewildered 
by  dense  fogs  and  unable  therefore  to  steer  northward, 
more  truly  than  the  needle  to  the  pole,  until  they  reach 
the  northern  shores  of  Lake  Huron  and  the  waters  of 
the  Great  Georgian  Bay,  where  they  remain  for  some 
time.  lon2:er  or  shorter,  according  to  the  state  of  the 


THE  CANADA  GOOSE.  63 

season,  and  the  gradual  disapj)earance  of  the  ice,  afford- 
ing, meantime,  sport  and  subsistence  to  the  Indians,  who 
paddle  stealthily  upon  them  in  their  birch  canoes,  or 
shoot  them  from  bough-houses  constructed  on  points 
whiclj  command  their  favorite  feeding  grounds  in  the 
rice  lakes  and  flats  around  the  mouths  of  the  ^N^orthern, 
the  Wye,  the  Severn,  and  their  neighboring  affluents. 

Thence,  so  soon  as  the  ice  disap]3ears,  they  are  up  and 
away,  and  are  no  more  seen  by  the  eyes  of  man,  except 
as  they  sweep  across  the  marshy  plains  about  the  dis- 
persed and  distant  forts  of  the  fur  companies,  until  in 
October,  they  recommence  their  earlier  voyagings,  now 
journeying  southward  with  recruited  strength  and  aug- 
mented numbers,  for  now  each  noisy  gander  and  his 
mate  are  accompanied  by  two  full-grown  and  full-feath- 
ered goslings,  and  tarrying  scarcely  for  a  moment  on 
the  great  lakes,  or  in  the  inland  waters,  until  they  reach 
their  favorite  autumnal  haunts  in  the  great  south  bay  of 
Long  Island,  and  all  along  the  inlets  and  lagoons  of  the 
Jersey  shore,  Squam  Beach,  and  Barnegat,  and  the  two 
Egg  Harbors,  where  they  disport  themselves,  and  revel 
in  the  sheltered  waters,  and  grow  fat  on  the  broad,  ten- 
der leaves  of  the  sea-cabbage,  a  common  marine  plant 
which  grows  about  the  stones  and  shells  on  the  sea- 
beaches,  and  on  the  roots  of  the  sedges,  which  they  are 
constantly  seen  in  the  act  of  tearing  up,  and  occasionally 
make  excursions  to  the  inlets  on  the  beach  for  sand  and 
gravel,  until  these  inland  bays  are  frozen  over  solidly 


64  AMERICAN   GAME. 

with  continuous  ice,  forbidding  them' to  obtain  their  food, 
and  compelling  them  yet  once  again  to  take  wing  and 
fly  more  southward  yet,  to  where  no  frost  nor  north-east 
tempest  cometh. 

During  this  visit  it  is  that  they  afford  the  mo^  sport 
to  the  gunner,  and  that  they  are  harassed,  especially 
about  Long  Island,  by  every  poacher's  device  and  arti- 
fice which  can  be  devised  to  slay  them,  fairly  or  unfairly, 
by  man,  wholly  without  consideration,  and  reckless  that 
the  slaughter  on  their  very  feeding  grounds  is  fast  ban- 
ishing them  from  regions  where,  with  all  their  watchful 
sentries  out  and  on  the  alert,  they  are  decimated  hourly 
by  volleys  from  unseen  and  unsuspected  foes. 

The  worst,  most  murderous,  and  least  sportsmauly  of 
all  these  artifices  is  "  the  hattery^^^  an  engine  long  but 
vainly  proscribed  and  prohibited  by  the  New  York  Leg- 
islatures, but  still  in  use  in  all  the  Long  Island  waters, 
though  the  shrewder,  if  not  more  honest  or  less  poaching 
Jerseymen,  tolerate  it  not  in  their  lagoons  and  inlets, 
which  still  swarm  with  the  fowl  daily"  seen  less  and 
less  in  the  Long  Island  bays. 

"  The  battery,"  says  a  good  wi'iter  in  the  Spirit  of  the 
Times,  "  is  formed  of  a  deal  box,  about  seven  feet  long, 
three  wide,  and  two  deep  ;  from  the  rim  of  this  a  plat- 
form of  board  runs  off  at  right  angles,  about  six  feet  on 
every  side,  and  the  interior  is  caulked  to  render  it  water 
.tight.  This  is  moored  on  some  shoal  where  the  birds 
are  observed  to  be  in  the  habit  of  resorting,  and  bal- 


THE   CANADA  GOOSE.  65 

lasted  with  stones  until  the  platform  merely  floats  upon 
the  sm-face  of  the  water ;  this  flat  surface  is  then  lightly 
covered  with  sedge,  so  that  at  a  very  short  distance 
nothing  hut  a  small  quantity  of  apparently  floating  weed 
is  discernible." 

Into  this  destructive  machine,  having  arranged  his 
carved  and  painted  wooden  decoys,  or  "  stools,"  around 
it,  the  gunner  descends  with  his  guns,  and  lying  flat  on 
his  back,  awaits,  from  before  the  first  glimmer  of  dawn, 
the  arrival  of  the  Geese  on  their  feeding  grounds,  which 
he  butchers  by  scores  or  even  hundreds,  while  they  are 
floating  here  and  there  feeding  unsuspiciously.  When 
it  is  considered  that  on  every  shoal  on  which  fowl  can 
feed  throughout  the  Long  Island  waters,  two  or  three  of 
these  murderous  contrivances  are  anchored,  so  that  the 
fowl  can  never  feed  in  quiet — and  at  no  other  period 
are  fowl  so  jealous  of  disturbance  as  while  feeding — ■ 
and  that  they  are,  moreover,  constantly  harassed  at  the 
same  delicate  period  by  being  shot  at  from  sailing-boats, 
running  down  among  them  before  the  wind,  before  they 
are  aware,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  should  rise  high 
into  the  air,  and  deserting  these  inhospitable  purlieus, 
seek  safer  places,  where,  if  they  be  shot  at  fiercely,  and 
compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  innumerable  fires,  as 
they  fly  to  and  fro  from  beach  to  feeding-ground,  and 
from  feeding-ground  to  beach,  they  are  at  least  allowed 
to  feed  in  peace  and  without  molestation. 

The  mode  practiced  in  the  Jersey  waters  is  this,  and 


6Q  AMERICAN    GAME. 

it  is  not  liable  to  the  objections  brought  against  the  for- 
mer mode,  while  it  affords  sport  sufficient  to  glut  the 
greediest  sportsman,  who  shoots  for  sport,  not  for  pot  or 
market. 

JS^iches  are  cut  in  the  mud-banks,  or  points,  across 
which  the  fowl  fly  from  the  beach  to  the  feeding-grounds, 
and  vice  versa ;  into  these  niches  the  Egg  Harbor  skiffs, 
which  the  gunners  use,  are  backed  up,  and  in  these, 
their  decks  plentifully  strewed  with  sedges,  clad  him- 
self in  dingy  sedge-colored  raiment,  the  fowler  lies,  with 
his  heavy  guns  expectant  His  decoys  are  moored  in 
the  water  around  him,  aud  as  they  bob  up  and  down 
with  the  bobbing  of  the  tide,  they  closely  resemble  a 
real  flock  of  fowl  riding  at  anchor  in  the  shallows. 

Here,  so  soon  as  the  saffron  tints  of  morning  begin  to 
steal  upon  the  gray  of  the  eastern  sky,  the  hoarse  honk  ! 
of  the  -gander  reaches  the  latent  gunner's  ear — ^liis  quick 
eye  glances  to  the  windward,  and  faint  and  far  on  the 
bright  dawning  back-ground  he  discerns,  dimly  pen 
oiled,  the  form  of  the  anxiously  desired  wedge. 

"  Aw-unk !  aw-unk  !"  he  sets  up  aloud  the  well-sim- 
ulated cry,  crouching  down  closer  in  his  sedge-covered 
egg-shell,  and  cocks  his  two  ponderous  single-barrelled 
duck  guns.  "  Aw-unk  !  aw-unk !"  the  leading  gander 
answers — "  Aw-unk  !  E-e — awnk !" 

Near  by  they  come  and  nearer ;  now  he  can  mark  the 
circular  sweep  of  their  vast  oary  pinions,  and  now  they 
spy  the  stools,  and  now  they  stoop  toward  them — then 


THE  CANADA  GOOSE.  07 

pause  and  hover,  half  suspicious — they  are  alarmed,  they 
seem  about  to  turn.     Oh  !  most  exciting  instant. 

"Aw-imk!  aw-unk!"  E-e — awnk!"  That  admirable 
mimicry  has  now  succeeded.  They  are  decided — they 
wheel — stoop — ^now — ^now — ^he  can  see  their  very  eyes. 
Up  goes  the  heavy  gun,  and  the  loud  roar,  that  harbin- 
gers-the  flight  of  Rye  oz.  of  BB,  is  as  the  knell  to  the 
leading  gander,  and  three  that  fly  the  next  behind  him. 
Up  starts  the  ambushed  enemy,  seizes  his  second  piece, 
sights  it  almost  by  instinct,  and  the  flash  and  the  roar 
are  simultaneous — and,  "  By  Heaven !  it  snows  Geese !" 
as  I  once  heard  old  Jesse  shout  at  Barnegat,  on  a  day 
when,  with  a  trusty  comrade,  w^e  slew  us  twenty  Geese, 
and  well  on  to  a  hundred  Black  Duck,  Scaup,  and  Brent 
Geese.  If  this  be  not  sport  enough  for  sportsmen,  why, 
then,  turn  poacher,  most  ungentle  reader,  and  earn  the 
malediction  of  all  who  love  a  fair  field  and  fair  play  for 
all  things,  whether  they  be  fish,  flesh,  or  fowl. 

Here  is  a  brief  description  of  our  bird.  Look  to  the 
wood-cut  at  the  head  of  this  paper,  and  see  if  you  dis- 
cern his  "  very  form  and  body,"  if  not  his  "  age  and  pres- 
sure." Length  of  bill,  from  the  corner  of  the  mouth  to 
the  end,  two  inches  and  three-sixteenths;  length  of 
tarsi,  two  inches  seven-eighths ;  length  from  point  of  bill 
to  end  o:^tail,  about  forty  inches ;  wing,  eighteen  inches. 
Head  and  greater  portion  of  neck,  black;  cheeks  and 
throat,  white.  Adult,  with  the  head,  greater  part  of 
neck,  primaries,  rump  and  tail,  black ;  back  and  wings. 


68  AMEBIC  AN  GAME. 

brown,  margined  with  paler  brown  ;  lower  part  of  neck, 
breast,  and  belly,  whitish-gray ;  flanks,  darker  gray ; 
cheeks  and  throat,  upper  and  under  tail-coverts,  white ; 
the  plumage  of  the  female  rather  duller. 

Such,  reader,  is  our  Canada  Goose,  or  American  Wild 
Goose,  a  game,  bold  bird  in  air  and  on  water,  a  grand 
bird  on  the  board.  Mine  may  it  be,  in  both  capa(5ities, 
to  meet  him  soon  -and  often,  but  especially  at  sunrise, 
from  the  lee  of  some  sheltered  hassock  to  be  greeted 
with  his  resonant  "  Aw-unk !  E-e — aw-unk !" 


III. 

MAHCH. 


Cljt  Ulallail' 


Anas  Bosch  as. 
EUROPE;   ASIA;   CANADA;   UNITED   STATED. 


Anas  Americana. 
HUDSON'S   BAY;   CANADA;   ATLANTIC   COASTS. 


"E 
.    s 

-g    ft 

'^    o 

<! 


THE  MALLARD. 

Anas  ^oschas. 

THE  AMEEICAIST  WIDGEON. 

Anas  Americana, 

Both  these  beautiful  clucks,  perhaps,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  lovely  Summer  Duck,  or  "Wood  Duck,  Anas 
Sponsa,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  tribe,  are  along  the 
seaboard  of  the  ^Noi-thern  States  somewhat  rare  of 
occurrence,  being  for  the  most  part  fresh-water  species, 
and  when  driven  by  stress  of  weather,  and  the  freezing 
over  of  the  inland  lakes  and  rivers  which  they  frequent, 
repairing  to  the  estuaries  and  land-locked  lagoons  of  the 
Southern  coasts  and  rivers,  as  well  as  to  the  tepid  pools 
and  warm  sources  of  Florida,  the  Carolinas,  Georgia, 
Alabama  and  Louisiana,  in  all  of  which  states  they 
swarm  during  the  summer  months. 

On  many  of  the  inland  streams  and  pools  of  E"ew 
York,  ]^ew  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  the  Far  "West  in 
general,  including  all  the  bays,  shallows  and  tributaries 
of  the  Great  Lakes,  as  well  as  all  the  lovely  smaller 
lakes  of  New  York,  especially  where  the  wild-rice,  or 


72  AMERICAN   GAME. 

wild  oat,  zizania  aquatica,  is  plentiful,  tliey  are  found  in 
Yeiy  great  numbers,  especially  in  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer time,  nor  are  they  mifrequently  killed  on  the  snipe- 
grounds  of  IN^ew  Jersey,  around  Chatham,  Pine-brook, 
and  the  Parcippany  meadows  on  the  beautiful  Passaic, 
and  on  the  yet  more  extensive  grounds  on  the  Seneca 
and  Cayuga  outlets,  in  the  vicinity  of  Montezuma 
Salina,  and  the  salt  regions  of  New  York. 

In  the  shallows  of  the  lake  and  river  St.  Clair,  above 
Detroit,  on  the  Hiviere  aiix  Canards^  and  the  marshes  of 
Chatham  in  Canada  East,  all^along  the  shores  of  Lake 
Erie  on  the  Canadian  side,  especially  about  Long  Point, 
and  in  the  Grand  Piver,  they  literally  swarm ;  while  in 
all  the  rivers,  and  shallow  rice-lakes  on  the  northern 
shores  of  Lake  Huron,  which  are  the  breeding-places  of 
their  countless  tribes,  they  are  found,  from  the  breaking 
np  of  the  ice  to  the  shutting  up  of  the  bays  and  coves  in 
which  they  feed,  in  numbers  absolutely  numberless. 

The  Mallard  is  generally  believed  to  be  the  parent 
and  progenitor  of  the  domestic  duck,  which,  although 
far  superior  in  beauty  of  plumage  and  grace  of  form  and 
deportment,  it  very  closely  resembles ;  yet  when  or 
where  it  was  domesticated,  is  a  question  entirely  dark 
and  never  to  be  settled.  It  is  certain  that  the  domestic 
duck  was  unknown  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  so  late 
as  to  the  Christian  era,  although  the  paintings  in  the 
Egyptian  tombs  demonstrate  beyond  a  peradventure 
that  it  was  familiar  to  that  wonderful  people  from  a  very 


THE   MALLAED.  73 

remote  period ;  and  it  is  also  known  to  liave  been  among 
the  Chinese,  who  rear  and  cnltivate  them  to  a  very  great 
extent.  Indeed,  it  is,  I  think,  in  the  highest  degree 
probable  that  the  duck,  in  its  domestic  state,  is  an 
importation  into  Europe  from  the  East,  where,  as  I 
believe  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  the  Mallard  is  a 
common  and  indigenous  native  of  the  fresh  waters. 

The  Mallard,  or  Wild  Drake,  commonly  known  in  the 
Eastern  States  as  the  Green-head,  westward  as  the  Gray 
Duck,  and  in  Alabama  as  the  English  Duck,  weighs 
from  thirty-six  to  forty  ounces,  and  measured  twenty- 
three  inches  in  length,  by  thirty-five  in  breadth. 

The  bill  is  of  a  yellowish-green  color,  not  very  flat, 
about  an  inch  broad,  and  two  and  a  half  long  from  the 
comers  of  the  mouth  to  the  tip  of  the  nail ;  the  head  and 
upper  half  of  the  neck  are  of  a  deep,  glossy,  changeable 
green,  terminated  in  the  middle  of  the  neck  by  a  white 
collar,  with  which  it  is  nearly  encircled  ;  the  lower  parts 
of  the  neck,  breast  and  shoulders  are  of  a  deep,  vinous 
chestnut ;  the  covering  scapular  feathers  are  of  a  kind  of 
silvery  white,  those  underneath  rufous^  and  both  are 
prettily  crossed  with  small,  waved  threads  of  brown. 
"Wing  coverts  ash,  quills  brown,  and  between  these 
intervenes  the  specuhMn,  or  beauty-spot,  common  in  the 
duck  tribe,  which  crosses  the  wing  in  a  transverse, 
oblique  direction.  It  is  of  a  rich,  glossy  purple,  with 
violet  or  green  reflections,  and  bordered  by  a  double 
streak  of  sooty  black  and  pure  white.     Tlie  belly  is  of  a 


74:  AMERICAN    GAME. 

V 

pale  gray,  delicately  crossed  and  pencilled  with  number- 
less narrow,  waved,  dusky  lines,  wliicli  on  the  sides  and 
long  feathers  that  cover  the  thighs  are  more  strongly 
and  distinctly  marked.  The  upper  and  under  tail 
coverts,  lower  part  of  the  back  and  rump,  are  black,  the 
latter  glossed  with  green ;  the  four  middle  tail  feathers 
are  also  black,  with  purple  reflections-,  and,  like  those  of 
the  domestic  duck,  are  stiffly  curled  upward.  The  rest 
are  sharp-pointed,  and  fade  off  to  the  exterior  edges 
from  brown  to  dull  white.  Iris  of  the  eye  bright 
yellow,  feet,  legs  and  webs  reddish  orange,  claws 
black. 

The  female,  and  young  male  until  after  the  first  moult, 
are  very  different  in  plumage  from  the  adult  drake,  par- 
taking none  of  its  beauties,  with  the  exception  of  the 
spot  on  the  wings.  All  the  other  parts  are  plain  brown, 
marked  with  black,  the  centre  of  every  feather  being 
dark  and  fading  to  the  edges.  She  makes  her  nest,  lays 
her  eggs — from  ten  to  sixteen  in  number,  of  a  greenish 
white — generally  in  the  most  sequestered  mosses  or  bogs, 
far  from  the  haunts  of  man,  and  hidden  from  his  sight 
among  reeds  and  rushes.  To  her  young,  helpless,  un- 
fledged family,  and  they  are  nearly  three  months  before 
they  can  fly,  she  is  a  fond,  attentive  and  watchful  parent, 
carrying  or  leading  them  from  one  pool  to  another,  as 
her  fears  or  inclinations  direct  her,  and  she  is  known  to 
use  the  same  wily  stratagems,  in  order  to  mislead  the 
sportsman  and  his  dog,  as  those  resorted  to  by  the  ruffed 


THE   MALLAED.  76 

grouse,  the  quail  and  tlie  woodcock,  feigning  lameness, 
and  fluttering  as  if  helplessly  wounded,  along  the  surface 
of  the  water  until  she  has  lured  the  enemy  afar  from  her 
skulking  and  terrified  progeny. 

The  Mallard  is  rarely  or  never  shot  to  decoys,  or  stools 
as  they  are  termed,  since  these  are  but  little  used  except 
on  the  coast,  where  this  duck  is,  as  I  have  previously 
observed,  of  rare  occurrence,  although  it  is  occasionally 
found  in  company  with  the  Dusky  Duck,  anas  6bscv/ra^ 
better  known  to  gunners  as  the  Black  Duck. 

It  is  stated,  however,  by  Dr.  Lewis,  in  his  clever  work 
entitled  "  Hints  to  Sportsmen,"  that,  "  like  most  of  wild 
fowl,  the  Mallard  breeds  in  the  far  north,  and  makes  its 
appearance  in  the  autumn,  among  the  first  of  our  ducks. 
It  is  common  throughout  all  our  rivers  and  fresh- water 
lakes,  but  is  seldom  met  with  on  the  sea-coast.  As  the 
winter  progresses,  large  numbers  continue  south,  and 
take  up  their  abode  among  the  rice-fields  of  the  Carolinas, 
where  tliey  become  very  fat  and  particularly  palatable  ; 
their  flesh  at  all  times  when  the  weather  is  not  severe  is 
good,  as  they  feed  on  vegetable,  matter  in  preference  to 
any  other  kind  of  food,  and  only  partake  of  flesh  when 
they  cannot  obtain  anything  else. 

"Mallards  are  easily  brought  within  gunshot  by 
means  of  decoys  used  in  the  way  already  described 
under  the  head  of  Canvass  Backs.  They  are  numerous 
at  times  on  the  Delaware,  and  numbers  are  killed  by 
shooters  hiding  themselves  in  boats  and  in  the  reeds 


76  A^IEEICAN    GA^IE. 

within  range  of  their  stool  ducks,  which  are  set  out  on 
the  edge  of  the  reeds.  They  are  fond  of  the  seeds  of  the 
wild  oats  that  flourish  so  profusely  on  the  flats  of  the 
Delaware,  and  their  flesh  soon  becomes  delicate  and 
juicy." 

Of  this  statement  I  doubt  not  the  correctness,  altliough 
what  I  have  written  above  is  founded  on  my  personal 
observation,  having  shot  wild  fowl  in  the  United  States 
only  on  the  Long  Island  and  l^ew  Jersey  shores,  or  the 
inland  rivers  of  the  Atlantic  coasts,  and  on  the  great 
lakes,  where  decoy  ducks  cannot  readily  be  procured. 

In  England  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe  Mallards 
are  netted  in  great  numbers  in  decoy  ponds  fabricated 
for  that  purpose,  a  full  account  of  which,  with  plans, 
will  be  found  in  Beurich's  British  Birds,  vol.  ii. ;  but  as 
this  method  is  not  adopted  in  the  United  States,  it  is 
needless  further  to  allude  to  it. 

"  Like  the  Dusky  Duck,"  says  Mr.  Griraud,  in  his  very 
clever  and  agreeable  manual  on  the  birds  of  Long  Island, 
"  when  pursued  by  the  sportsman,  it  becomes  shy,  and 
feeds  at  night,  dozing  away  the  day  out  of  gun-shot  from 
the  shore. 

"Early  in  the  month  of  July,  1837,  while  himting 
over  the  meadows.for  smaller  game,  I  came  upon  a  pair 
of  Mallard  Ducks,  moving  slowly  down  the  celebrated 
'  Brick-house  creek.'  The  thought  occurred  to  me  that 
they  were  a  pair  of  tame  ducks  that  had  become  tired 
of  the  monotony  of  domestic  life, 'and  determined  on^ 


THE  MALLABD.  T7 

pushing  tlieir  fortunes  in  tlie  broad  bay.  As  I  advanced 
they  took  wing,  which  undeceived  me,  and  I  brought 
them  down.  They  proved  to  be  an  adult  male  and 
female.  From  this  circumstance  I  was  led  to  suppose 
that  they  had  bred  in  the  neighborhood.  I  made  a  dili- 
gent search,  and  offered  a  sufficient  bounty  to  induce 
others  to  search  with  me — but  neither  nest  nor  young 
could  be  found.  Probably  when  migrating,  they  were 
shot  at  and  so  badly  wounded  as  to  be  unable  to  perform 
their  fatiguing  journey,  perhaps  miles  apart,  and  per^ 
chance  only  found  companions  in  each  other  a  short 
time  before  I  shot  them." 

When  the  young  birds  are  about  three-fourths  grown, 
and  not  as  yet  fully  fledged  or  able  to  fly  strongly,  at 
which  age  they  are  termed  Jlccppers,  they  afford  excellent 
sport  over  water-spaniels,  when  they  are  abundant  in 
large  reed  beds  along  the  brink  of  ponds  and  rivers. 
"When  full  grown,  moreover,  when  they  frequent  parts 
of  the  country  where  the  streams  are  narrow  and  wind- 
ing, great  sport  can  be  had  with  them  at  times,  by 
walking  about  twenty  yards  wide  of  the  brink  and  as 
many  in  advance  of  an  attendant,  who  should  follow  all 
the  windings  of  the  water  and  flush  the  birds,  which 
springing  wide  of  him  will  so  be  brought  within  easy 
range  of  the  gun. 

The  Mallard  is  wonderfully  quick-sighted  and  sharp 
of  hearing,  so  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  stalk  him 
from  the  shore,  especially  by  a  person  coming  down 


Y8  AMERICAN   GAME. 

wind  upon  liim,  so  much  so  that  the  acuteness  of  his 
senses  has  given  rise  to  a  general  idea  that  he  can  detect 
danger  to,  windward  by  means  of  his  olfactory  nerves. 
This  is,  however,  disproved  by  the  observations  of  that 
excellent  sportsman  and  pleasant  writer,  John  Colqu- 
houn  of  Luss,  as  recorded  in  that  capital  work,  "  The 
Moor  and  the  Loch,"  who  declares  decidedly,  that  al- 
though ducks  on  the  feed  constantly  detect  an  enemy 
crawling  down  upon  them  from  the  windward,  will  con- 
stantly, when  he  is  lying  in  wait,  silent  and  still,  and 
properly  concealed,  sail  down  upon  him  perfectly  unsus- 
picious, even  when  a  strong  wind  is  blowing  over  him 
full  in  their  nostrils. 

For  duck  shooting,  whether  it  be  practiced  in  this 
fashion,  by  stalking  them  from  the  shore  while  feeding 
in  lakelets  or  rivers,  by  following  the  windings  of  open 
and  rapid  streams  in  severe  weather,  or  in  paddling  or 
pushing  on  them  in  gunning-skiffs,  as  is  practiced  on  the 
Delaware,  a  peculiar  gun  is  necessary  for  the  perfection 
of  the  sport.  To  my  taste,  it  should  be  a  double-barrel 
from  33  to  36  inches  in  length,  at  the  outside,  about  10 
guage,  and  ten  pounds  weight.  The  strength  and  weight 
of  the  metal  should  be  principally  at  the  breech,  which 
will  answer  the  double  purpose  of  causing  it  to  balance 
well  and  of  counteracting  the  call.  Such  a  gun  will 
carry  from  two  to  three  ounces  of  JSTo.  4  shot,  than  which 
I  would  never  use  a  larger  size  for  duck,  and  with  that 
load  and  an  equal  measure  of  very  coarse  powder — 


THE   MALLARD.  T9 

Hawker's  ducking-powder,  manufactured  by  Curtis  and 
Harvey,  is  tlie  best  in  tlie  world,  and  can  be  procured 
of  Mr.  Brougb,  in  Fulton  Street,  ITew  York — will  do  its 
work  satisfactorily  and  cleanly  at  sixty  yards,  or  witli 
Eley's  green^  wire  cartridges,  wbicli  will  permit  tlie  use 
of  shot  one  size  smaller,  at  thirty  yards  farther.  The 
utility  of  these  admirable  projectiles  can  hardly  be  over- 
rated ;  next  to  the  copper-cap,  of  which  Starkey's  water- 
proof, central-fire,  is  the  best  form,  I  regard  them  as  the 
greatest  of  modem  inventions  in  the  art  of  gunnery. 

Such  a  gun  as  I  describe  can  be  furnished  of  first-rate 
quality  by  Mr.  John  Krider  of  Philadelphia,  Mr.  John, 
or  Patrick  Mullin  of  ISTew  York,  or  Mr.  Henry  T.  Cooper 
of  the  same  city,  ranging  in  price,  according  to  finish, 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  of 
domestic  manufacture ;  and  I  would  strongly  recommend 
sportsmen,  requiring  such  an  implement,  to  apply  to  one 
of  these  excellent  and  conscientious  makers,  rather  than 
even  to  import  a  London  gun,  much  more  than  to  pur- 
chase at  a  hazard  the  miserable  and  dangerous  Birming- 
ham trash,  manufactured  of  three-penny  skelp  or  sham- 
damn-iron,  got  up  in  handsome  velvet-lined  mahogany 
cases,  and  tricked  out  with  varnish  and  gimcrackery  ex- 
pressly for  the  American  market,  such  as  are  offered  for 
sale  at  every  hardware  shop  in  the  country. 

The  selling  of  such  goods  ought  to  be  made  by  law  a 
high  misdemeanor,  and  a  fatal  accident  occurring  by 


80  AMEEICAK   GAlVrE. 

their  explosion  should  entail  on  the  head  of  the  vender 
the  penalty  of  wilful  murder. 

The  Mallard  is  found  frequently  associating  in  large 
plumps  with  the  Pintail,  or  Sprigtail,  another  elegant 
ii-esh  water  variety,  the  Dusky-Duck  on  fresh  waters,  the 
Greenwinged  Teal  in  winter  to  the  southward,  and  with 
the  Widgeon  on  the  western  waters. 

On  the  big  and  little  pieces — two  large  moist  savannas 
on  the  Passaic  river  in  ISTew  Jersey,  formerly  famous  for 
their  snipe  and  cock  grounds,  but  now  ruined  by  the 
ruthless  devastations  of  pot-hunters  and  poachers — I  have 
shot  Mallard,  Pintail,  and  Black  Duck,  over  dead  points 
from  setters,  out  of  brakes,  in  which  they  were  probably 
preparing  to  breed,  during  early  snipe-shooting;  but 
nowhere  have  I  ever  beheld  them  in  such  myriads  as  in 
the  small  rice-lakes  on  the  Severn,  the  Wye,  and  the 
cold  water  rivers  debouching  into  the  northern  part  of 
Lake  Huron,  known  as  the  Great  Georgian  Bay,  and  on 
the  reed-flats  and  shallows  of  Lake  St.  Clair,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Alganac,  and  the  mouths  of  the  Thames  and 
Chevail  Ecartc  rivers. 

I  am  satisfied  that  by  using  well-made  decoys,  or 
stools,  and  two  canoes,  one  concealed  among  the  rice 
and  reeds,  and  the  other  paddling  to  and  fro,  to  puf  up 
the  teams  of  wild  fowl  and  keep  them  constantly  on  the 
move,  such  sport  might  be  had  as  can  be  obtained  in  no 
other  section  of  this  country,  perhaps  of  the  world ;  and 
that  the  pleasure  would  well  repay  the  sportsman  for  a 


THE   AMEEICAl^   WIDGEON.  .  81 

trip  far  more  difficult  and  tedious  than  the  facilities  af- 
forded by  the  Erie  Railroad  and  the  noble  steamers  on 
the  lakes  now  render  a  visit  to  those  glorious  sporting- 
grounds. 

The  American  Widgeon,  the  bird  which  is  represented 
as  falling  headforemost  with  collapsed  wings,  shot  per- 
fectly dead  without  a  struggle,  in  the  accompanying 
woodcut,  while  the  Mallard  goes  off  safely,  quacking  at 
the  top  of  his  voice  in  strange  terror,  though  nearly  allied 
to  the  European  species,  is  yet  perfectly  distinct,  and 
peculiar  to  this  continent. 

It  is  thus  accurately  described  by  Mr.  Giraud,  although 
but  an  unfrequent  visitor  of  the  Long  Island  bays  and 
shores : 

"Bill  short,  the  color  light  grayish  blue;  speculum 
green,  banded  with  black.  Under  wing  coverts  white. 
Adult  male  with  the  coral  space,  sides  of  the  head,  under 
the  eye,  upper  part  of  the  neck  and  throat  brownish 
white,  spotted  with  black.  A  broad  band  of  white,  com- 
mencing at  the  base  of  the  upper  mandible,  passing  over 
the  crown."  It  is  this  mark  which  has  procured  the  bird 
its  general  provincial  appellation  of  "  Baldpate."  "^  Be- 
hind the  eye  a  broad  band  of  bright  green,  extending 
backward  on  the  hind  neck  about  three  inches  ;  the 
feathers  on  the  nape  rather  long ;  lower  neck  and  sides 
of  the  breast,  with  a  portion  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
breast  reddish  brown.  Rest  of  the  lower  parts  white, 
excepting  a  patch  of  black  at  the  base  of  the  tail.  Under 
4^ 


82  AMEKICAJ^   GAME. 

tail  covert  the  same  color.  Flanks  brown,  barred  with 
dusky ;  lower  part  of  the  hind  neck  and  fore  part  of  the 
back  undulated  with  brownish  and  light  bix)wnish  red, 
hind  part  undulated  with  grayish  w^hite;  primaries 
brown ;  outer  webs  of  the  inner  secondaries  black,  mar- 
gined with  white — inner  w^ebs  grayish  brown ;  secondary 
coverts  white,  tipped  with  black;  speculum  brilliant 
green,  formed  by  the  middle  secondaries.  Length 
twenty-one  inches,  wing  ten  and  a  half.  Female  smaller, 
plumage  duller,  without  the  green  markings." 

Tlie  Widgeon  breeds  in  the  extreme  north,  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  foot  of  civilized  man,  in  the  boundless  mosses 
and  morasses,  prodigal  of  food  and  shelter,  of  Labrador, 
and  Boothia  Felix,  and  the  fur  coui^tries,  where  it  spends 
the  brief  but  ardent  summer  in  the  cares  of  nidification, 
and  the  reproduction  of  its  species. 

During  the  spring  and  autumn,  it  is  widely  distributed 
throughout  the  Union,  from  the  fresh  lakes  of  the  north- 
west to  the  shores  of  the  ocean,  but  it  is  most  abundant, 
as  well  as  most  delicious  where  the  wild  rice,  Zlzcmia 
^annicula  effusa^  the  wild  celery,  Balisneria  Araericana^ 
and  the  eel-grass,  Zostera  Marina^  grow  most  luxuriously. 
On  these  it  fares  luxuriously,  and  becomes  exceedingly 
fat,  and  most  delicate  and  succulent  eating,  being  almost 
entirely  a  vegetable  feeder,  and  as  such,  devoid  of  any 
fishy  or  sedgy  flavor. 

Li  the  spring  and  autumn  it  is  not  unfrequently  shot 
in  considerable  numbers,  from  skiffs,  on  the  mud  banks 


THE  AMERICAN  WEDOEON.  83 

of  the  Delaware,  in  company  with  Bhie- winged  Teal; 
and  in  winter  it  congregates  in  vast  flocks,  together  with 
Scaups,  better  known  as  Bluebills,  or  Broadbills,  Bed- 
heads, and  Canvasbacks,  to  which  last  it  is  a  source  of 
constant  annoyance,  since  being  a  far  less  expert  diver 
than  the  Canvasback,  it  watches  that  bird  until  it  rises 
with  the  highly-prized  root,  and  flies  off  with  the  stolen 
booty  in  triumph. 

The  Widgeon,  like  the  Canvasback,  can  at  times  be 
toled,  as  it  is  termed,  or  lured  within  gunshot  of  sports- 
men, concealed  behind  artificial  screens  of  reeds,  built 
along  the  shore,  or  behind  natural  coverings,  such  as 
brakes  of  cripple  or  reed-beds,  by  the  gambols  of  dogs 
taught  to  play  and  sport  backward  and  forward  along 
the  shore,  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  the  curious  and 
fascinated  wild  fowl  within  easy  shooting  distance.  And 
strange  to  say,  so  powerful  is  the  attraction  that  the 
same  flock  of  ducks  has  been  known  to  be  decoyed  into 
gunshot  thrice  within  the  space  of  a  single  hour,  above 
forty  birds  being  killed  at  the  three  discharges.  Scaups, 
or  Blackheads,  as  they  are  called  on  the  Chesapeake, 
tole,  it  is  said,  more  readily  than  any  other  species,  and 
next  to  these  the  Canvasbacks  and  Eedheads ;  the  Bald- 
pates  being  the  most  cautious  and  wary  of  them  all,  and 
rarely  suffering  themselves  to  be  decoyed,  except  when 
in  company  with  the  Canvasbacks,  along  with  which 
they  swim  shoreward  carelessly,  though  without  appear- 
ing to  notice  the  dog. 


86  AMERICAN   GAME. 

wlien  sleeping  in  close  columns  on  the  surface  of  the 
water.  This  method  is,  however,  mnch  reprobated  bj 
sportsmen,  and  that  very  justly,  as  tending  beyond  any 
other  method  to  cause  the  fowl  to  desert  their  feeding 
grounds. 

In  conclusion,  we  earnestly  recommend  both  these 
beautiful  birds  to  our  sporting  readers,  both  as  objects 
of  pleasurable  pursuit  and  subjects  of  first  rate  feeds. 
A  visit  at  this  season  to  Seneca  Lake,  the  Montezuma 
Meadows,  or  that  region,  could  not  fail  to  yield  rare 
sport. 


IV. 
APRIL. 

I^Ije   l-iueritan   Snip. 

Scolopax   Wilsonli. 

THE  EN^GLISH  SKIPE. 

BRITISH  PROVINCES;  UNITED   STATES;    ARCTIC    REGIONS 
TO   MEXICO. 


C|e  %\u^t\  ^\m 


Labrax  Lineatus. 

THE    EOCK    FISH. 

BAY  OF  FUNDY  TO  THE  CAPES  OF  THE  CHESAPEAKE. 


Ii          H 

OJ 

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f        w 

THE   AMERICAN  SNIPE. 

Scolojpax   WiUoniL 

THE  ENGLISH  SNIPE. 

It  is  a  singular  thing,  and  one  wliicli  elucidates  the 
great  research  necessary,  and.  the  extreme  difficulties  en- 
countered, in  the  attempt  to  establish  facts  of  natural 
history  with  regard  to  birds  of  passage,  that  this  beauti- 
ful little  bird,  the  general  favorite  of  the  sportsman  and 
the  epicure,  well  known  to  all  classes  of  men,  and  a  vis- 
itant, in  some  one  of  its  closely  allied  varieties,  of  every 
known  nation,  is  still  a  mystery,  as  regards  some  of  its 
habits,  and  continues  to  baffle  the  inquiries  of  the  most 
learned  and  inquisitive  ornithologists. 

Its  habits,  the  nature  of  its  food,  and  therefore  the  ne- 
cessities of  its  existence,  render  it  an  inhabitant  of  tem- 
perate climates,  ai^d  of  regions  in  which  the  moist  and 
loamy  soil,  from  which  it  derives  its  sustenance  of  small 
worms,  insects,  and  the  like,  is  not  frozen  during  the  pe- 
riod of  its  visitations  so  hard  as  to  preclude  its  boring 
with  its  delicate  and  sensitive  bill  for  its  semi-aquatJc 
prey  of  worms  and  larvae. 


90  AMERICAN   GA]yiE. 

.  Stiil,  as  extreme  cold  prevents  it  from  obtaining  sub- 
sistence, extreme  heat  would  appear  to  be  still  less  con- 
genial to  its  tastes  or  temj)erament ;  for,  whereas  it  lingers 
in  the  north  until  autumnal  frosts  seal  up  the  marshes 
and  the  soft  stream  margins  against  its  probing  bill,  it 
flies  from  its  winter  quarters  in  the  rice-fields  of  Carolina, 
and  Georgia,  and  the  farther  morasses  of  Texas  and  I^ew 
Mexico,  the  instant  that  opening  spring  admits  of  its 
return  to  the  fresh  meadows  and  pure  rivulets  of  the 
north-east. 

The  winter  quarters  of  this  bird,  then,  are  fairly  ascer- 
tained, ranging  from  Carolina  southward  until  almost  the 
northern  limits  of  the  Tropics ;  thence,  so  soon  as  the 
blue-bird  begins  to  pipe  in  the  apple-ti^ee,  the  shad  to 
appear  in  the  rivers,  the  willow-buds  to  tuni  yellow,  and 
the  frogs  to  croak  and  chirrup,  with  us  to  the  northward, 
the  snipe  is  seen  everywhere,  hurrying,  according  to  the 
progress  of  the  season,  singly,  in  whisps  often  or  twelve, 
or  in  huge  flights,  ever,  ever,  northwardly.  In  *l\Iary- 
land,  in  Delaware,  in  southern  Pennsylvania  and  IsTew 
Jersey,  he  is  wont  to  appear  from  the  1st  to  the  20th  of 
March  ;  in  ISTew  York  and  ^N^ew  Jersey  northward,  from 
the  15tli  of  March  to  the  20th  of  April,  remaining  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period'  according  to  the  steadiness  of 
the  weather,  the  state  of  the  ground  as  regards  wet  or 
drought,  and  the  geniality  of  the  season.  In  mild,  soft, 
temperate,  moist  seasons,  with  a  prevalence  of  westerly 
weather,  he  will  linger  with  us  into  the  lap  of  June ;  and 


THE   AilEKTCAN   SNIPE.  91 

in  sncli  seasons,  more  or  less,  lie  woos'  liis  mate,  nidifi- 
cates and  rears  his  yonng  among  ns,  from  tlie  Raritaii 
and  the  Passaic  northward  and  eastward  to  the  Great 
Lakes,  and  throughout  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  probably, 
and  Canada  West,  up  far  into  the  Arctic  Circles. 

Still,  those  which  breed  with  us  in  the  United  States, 
and  even  in  the  Canadas,  are  but  as  dro23S  of  water  to  an 
ocean,  to  those  which  rush  on  the  untiring  pinions  moved 
by  amatory  instinct  to  the  far  breeding  grounds  of  Lab- 
rador, Symsonia,  and  Boothia  Felix,  whither  it  is  s^lJ)' 
posed  thej  resort  to  rear  their  young  in  hyperborean  soli- 
tude, thence  to  reissue,  in  the  summer  and  the  earlier 
autumn,  and  re-populate  our  midland  meadows. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Amherstberg,  Canada  West, 
they  appear  very  early ;  often  in  February  of  mild  sea- 
sons, always  in  March  ;  and  there  may  breed,  and  remain 
until  banished  by  severe  cold.  I  shot  one  there  myself 
last  autumn,  the  last  bird  of  the  season,  very  late  in  'No- 
vember,  I  believe  on  the  28th  or  29th  ;  and  with  the 
plover,  the  Hudsonian  godwit,  and  the  Esquimaux 
curlew,  they  were  seen  there  this  spring  in  the  first  days 
of  March. 

Around  Quebec,  I  have  shot  English  snipe  on  the  up- 
lands, in  fallow  fields  and  rushy  pastures — for  the  grass 
in  the  morasses  does  not  begin  to  shoot  in  those  far  north- 
em  latitudes,  so  as  to  afford  them  shelter,  until  much 
later  in  the  year — in  the  end  of  April  and  the  beginning 
of  May ;  but  they  arrive  there  only  by  small  scattered 


92  AMEE1CAI7  GAME. 

wliisps,  or  single  birds,  tarry  a  few  short  days,  and  flifc 
onward  to  their  unknown  destination. 

This,  then,  is  their  mystery — that  in  no  known  land 
are  they  perennial ;  in  no  ascertained  region — so  far  as  I 
can  learn — are  they  positively  known  to  breed  in  the 
vast  concourses  which  must  breed  somewhere,  in  order 
to  supply  the  prodigious  flights  which  issue  yearly  from 
the  northern  regions  of  three  continents,  Europe, 
America,  and  Asia,  to  fill  the  warmer  countries,  and  to 
be  slaughtered  literally  by  myriads,  season  after  season, 
without  undergoing  much  if  any  visible  diminution  of 
numbers. 

Ever,  in  all  places,  in  all  countries,  in  all  continents, 
which  they  visit  in  spring,  they  are  seen  pressing  north- 
ward still,  from  March  until  May  ;  no  one  being  able  to 
say  here  ends  their  tide  of  emigration,  this  is  their  chosen 
resting-place. 

Their  breeding  season  is  from  the  middle  of  May  to 
the  beginning  of  July ;  on  the  4th  of  which  month  I 
have  shot  young  birds,  with  the  pin-feathers  undeveloped, 
as  large  as  the  parents — these  birds  having  been  hatched 
on  the  ground  whereon  I  killed  them.  Indeed,  it  is  my 
opinion,  that  all  birds  which  tarry  in  our  latitudes  be- 
yond the  10th  of  May,  either  do  breed  with  us,  or  would 
do  so  but  for  the  persecution  of  the  pot-hunter — all 
w^hich  intend  to  steer  farther  north  having  departed  ere 
that  time. 

About  the  15th  of  July  the  returning  hordes,  young 


THE  AMEEICAN   SNIPE.  93 

birds  and  old  together,  full  grown  and  in  jfine  condition, 
begin  to  reappear  in  the  marshes  of  Quebec  and  its  vicin- 
ity, which  may  be  said  to  be  the  extremest  northern  point 
from  which  we  have  continuous  and  authentic  annual 
information  of  their  appearance.  At  that  time  the 
slaughter  of  the  snipe  on  the  marshes  of  Chateau  Richer, 
and  of  the  islands  farther  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  is  pro- 
digious. There  they  linger  until  the  ffosts  become  so 
severe  as  to  drive  them  from  their  feeding-grounds, 
which  generally  takes  place  early  in  September,  from 
which  time,  throughout  that  month,  all  October,  and  a 
portion — more  or  less  according  to  the  season — of  JSTo- 
vember,  and  even  December,  every  likely  swamp,  mo- 
rass, and  feeding-ground  of  Canada  West,  of  the  western, 
midland,  and  eastern  states,  from  which  they  are  not 
persecuted  and  banished  by  the  incessant  banging  of 
pot-hunters  and  idle  village  boys,  swarms  with  them,  in 
quantities  sufficient  to  aiford  sport  to  hundreds,  and  a 
delicacy  to  thousands  of  our  inhabitants,  if  they  were 
protected  from  useless  and  unmeaning  persecution,  by 
which  alone  they  are  prevented  from  being  as  numerous 
among  us  as  at  any  former  period. 

For  I  am  well  assured,  that — unlike  the  woodcock, 
which,  breeding  in  our  midst,  and  dwelling  with  us  for 
months  at  a  time,  is  annually  slaughtered  w^hile  breeding, 
hatching,  or  immature,  and  is  thus  in  rapid  progress 
towards  extirpation — the  snipe,  when  unmolested  in  its 
breeding-grounds,  is  not  diminished  in  its  numerical  pro- 


94  AMERICAN   GAME. 

duction,  but  is  rendered  scarcer  in  thickly  settled  dis- 
tricts, nigh  to  large  towns,  by  incessant  harrassing,  which 
drives  it  "to  remoter  and  securer  feeding-grounds. 

I  do  not  mean  by  fliis,  however,  to  assert  that  the  abo- 
lition of  spring  snipe-shooting  would  not  be  an  advan- 
tage— on  the  contrary,  I  am  convinced  that  it  would ; 
although  well  assured  that  no  such  measure  can  be  hoped 
at  the  hands  of  our  legislators  ;  for,  as  the  snipe  ordina- 
rily lays  four  eggs,  the  destruction  of  each  one  of  the 
breeders  on  their  way  northward,  of  course  diminishes 
the  stock  of  the  coming  season  by  five  birds.  , 

So  much  for  the  times  and  places  of  the  snipe's  migra- 
tions. Of  his  appearance  or  characteristics — ^so  well  is 
he  known — it  is  almost  useless  to  speak ;  it  may,  how- 
ever, be  well  to  observe  that  although  commonly  termed 
the  English  Snipe,  our  bird  is  a  thorough  tiative  Ameri- 
can, differing  from  the  bird  of  Europe  in  being  about 
one  inch  smaller  every  way,  and  in  having  two  more 
feathers,  sixteen  instead  of  fourteen,  in  the  tail.  In 
other  minute,  but  ^i\\\  permanent,  and  therefore  charac- 
teristic distinctions,  it  differs  from  the  Asiatic  and  An- 
tarctic snipes  ;  although  in  their  rapid,  zigzag  flight  and 
shrill  squeak  when  flushed ;  in  their  irregular  soaring 
through  the  air  in  gloomy  weather  ;  in  their  perpendic- 
ular towering  and  plumb  descent,  their  drumming  with 
the  wing-feathers,  and  bleating  with  the  voice,  during 
the  breeding-season,  all  the  species  or  varieties  so  closely 
resemble  each  other,  that  they  are  far  more  easily  con- 


THE  AMERICAN  SNIPE.  95 

founded  than  distinguished  by  the  unscientific  sportS' 
man. 

The  American  bird  has,  however,  two  or  three  habits, 
during  early  spring-shooting,  which  I  have  never  ob- 
served in  the  European  species,  nor  seen  noticed  in  any 
work  of  natural  history  ;  the  first  of  these  is  frequenting 
underwood  and  bushy  covert  abounding  in  springs  and 
intersected  by  cattle-tracks,  and  occasionally  even  high 
woods,  during  wild,  stormy,  and  dark  weather,  especially 
when  snow-squalls  are  driving ;  and  this  is  a  habit  of  the 
bird  meriting  the  attention  of  the  sportsman,  as  in  such 
weather,  when  he  finds  no  birds  on  the  open  and  unshel- 
tered marshes,  he  will  do  well  to  beat  the  neighboring 
underwoods,  if  any,  and  if  not,  the  nearest  swampy 
woodlands ;  by  doing  which  he  will  oftentimes  fill  his 
bag  when  he  despairs  of  any  sport.  Tlie  second  habit  is 
that  of  alighting,  not  unfrequently,  on  rail-fences,  or 
stumps,  and  even  on  high  trees,  which  I  think  I  can 
safely  assert  that  the  European  bird  never  does  ;  and  the 
third  is  the  utterance,  when  in  the  act  of  skimming  over 
the  meadows,  after  soaring,  bleating,  and  drumming  for 
an  hour  at  a  stretch  in  mid  air,  of  "  a  sharp  reiterated 
chatter,  consisting  of  a  quick,  jarring  repetition  of  the 
syllables,  heh-helc-lceh-lceh-lcelc^  many  times  in  succession, 
with  a  rising  and  falling  inflection,  like  that  of  a  hen 
which  has  just  laid  an  eggy^^ 

There  is  no  Jack  Snipe  in  America,  though  many  per- 

*  "  Frank  Forrester's  Field  Sports  of  North  America,"  vol.  i.  p.  161. 


96  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

sons  ignorantly  and  obstinately  assert  the  reverse ;  the 
true  Jack  Snipe  being  a  northern  bird  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  visiting  the  milder  climates  during  the  hard 
weather.  It  is  an  exact  counterpart  of  the  English  Snipe, 
only  about  one-half  smaller ;  it  never  utters  any  cry  on 
rising,  and  rarely  flies  above  one  hundred  yards,  often 
dropping  within  fifty  feet  of  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  just 
discharged  at  it,  although  unwounded.  The  bird  which 
is  here  confounded  with  it,  is  the  Pectoeal  Sai^dpiper,  a 
bird  about  one-third  smaller  than  the  snipe,  of  a  lighter 
brown,  with  a  short,  arched  bill,  and  a  feeble  quavering 
whistle.  It  is  found  indiscriminately  on  the  sea-shore, 
and  in  upland  marshes  ;  I  have  shot  it  from  Lake  Huron 
to  the  Penobscot,  and  the  Capes  of  the  Delaware ;  it  lies 
well  before  dogs,  which  will  point  it,  and  is  a  good  bird 
on  the  table.  It  is  known  in  Long  Island  as  the  "  Mea- 
dow Snipe,"  and  the  "  Short  Neck"  in  'New  Jersey,  and 
thence  westward,  as  the  "  Fat  Bird,"  or  "  Jack  Snipe," 
indiscriminately.  It  is  not  a  snipe  at  all,  but  a  Sand- 
piper, Tringa  Pectoralis. 

-  The  only  other  true  snipe  ascertained  to  exist  in  Ame- 
rica, is  the  Ped-Bkeasted  Snipe,  Scolc/pax  Novebora- 
censis^  better  known  as  the  "  Dowitcheb,"  an  unmeaning 
name,  adopted  and  persevered  in  by  the  Baymen,  or  as 
the  "  Quail  Snipe."  At  Egg  Harbor  the  gunners  call  it 
the  "  Brown-back."  It  is  found  only  on  the  salt  marshes, 
and  ig  never  hunted  with  dogs,  but  shot  from  ambush 
over  decoys. 


THE    AMEEIOAJSr    SNIPE.  97 

It  appears,  then,  tliat  the  coming  and  stay  of  the  com- 
mon snipe  in  om^  districts,  in  spring,  is  very  uncertain 
and  dependent  on  the  state  and  steadiness  of  the  weather. 
Some  seasons,  they  will  stay  for  weeks  on  the  moist, 
muddy  flats  among  the  young  and  succulent  herbage, 
growing  fat  and  lazy,  lying  well  to  the  dog,  and  afford- 
ing great  sport.  Sometimes  they  will  merely  alight,  feed, 
rest,  and  resume  their  flight,  never  giving  the  sportsman. 
a  chance  even  of  knowing  that  they  have  been,  and  are 
gone,  except  by  their  chalkings  and  borings  where  they 
have  fed.  Again,  at  other  seasons,  they  will  lie  singly, 
or  in  scattered  whisps  on  the  uplands,  in  fallow  fields, 
even  among  stunted  brushwood,  lurking  perdu  all  day, 
and  resorting  to  the  marshes  by  night,  leaving  the  traces 
of  their  presence  in  multitudes,  to  perplex  the  sportsman, 
who,  perhaps,  beats  the  ground  for  them,  day  after  day, 
only  to  find  that  they  were,  but  are  not. 

This  variance  in  the  habit  of  the  snipe  it  is,  which 
makes  him  so  hard  a  bird  to  kill ;  for,  although  he  is  per- 
plexing from  his  rapid  and  twisting  flight  to  a  novice,  I 
consider  him,  to  a  cool  old  hand,  as  easy  a  bird  to  kill  as 
any  that  flies.  The  snipe  invariably  rises  against  or 
across  wind,  and  in  doing  so  hangs  for  an  instant  on  the 
air  before  he  can  gather  his  way  ;  that  instant  is  the  time 
in  which  to  shoot  him,  and  that  trick  of  rising  against 
wind  is  his  bane  with  the  accomplished  shot  and  sports- 
man, for  by  beating  down  the  wind^  keeping  his  brace  of 
dogs  quartering  the  ground  before  him,  across  the  windy 
5 


98  .AJdERICAlJ   GAME. 

SO  that  they  will  still  have  the  air  in  their  noses,  he  com- 
pels the  bird  to  rise  before  him;  and  cross  to  the  right  on 
the  left  hand,  affording  him  a  clear  and  close  shot,  instead 
of  whistling  straight  away  np  wind,  dead  ahead  of  him, 
exposing  the  smallest  surface  to  his  aim,  and  frequently 
getting  off  without  a  shot,  as  it  will  constantly  do,  if  the 
shooter  beats  uj^  wind,  even  with  the  best  and  steadiest 
dogs  in  the  world.  The  knack  of  shooting  snipe,  as  some 
people  who  can't  do  it  choose  to  call  it,  is  no  other  than 
the  knack  of  shooting  quick,  shooting  straight,  and  shoot- 
ing well  ahead  of  cross  shots — this  done  with  a  gun  tliat 
will  throw  its  charge  close  at  forty  to  fifty  yards,  with 
1\  oz.  of  No.  8  shot,  equal  measures  of  shot  and  of 
Brough's  diamond-grain  powder,  will  fetch  three  snipe 
out  of  every  ^\Q,  which  is  great  work,  in  spite  of  what 
the  cockneys  say,  who  pick  their  shots,  never  firing  at  a 
hard  bird,  or  one  over  twenty  paces  away,  and  then  boast 
of  killing  twenty  shots  in  succession.      Yerbu7rh  sajy. 

The  great  difference  of  the  grounds  to  be  beaten  in  dif- 
ferent weathers ;  the  difficulty  in  determining  which 
ground  to  assign  to  which  day  ;  the  immense  extent  of 
country  to  be  traversed,  if  birds  are  scarce  or  wild,  or  if 
there  are  many  varieties  of  soil,  covert,  and  feeding  in 
one  range,  and  the  sportsman  fail  in  his  two  or  three  first 
beats  in  finding  game,  and  therefore  have  to  persevere 
till  he  do  find  them,  these,  and  the  hardness  of  the  walk- 
ing in  rotten  quagmires  and  deep  morasses,  affording  no 
sure  foot-hold,  and  often  knee-deep  in  water,  these  it  is 


THE   4MEKICAN   SNIPE.  99 

which  make  successful  snipe-shooting  one  of  the  greatest 
feats  in  the  art,  and  the  crack  snij^e-fincler  and  snipe- 
killer — for  the  two  are  one,  or  rather  the  second  depends 
mainly  on  the  first — one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first  artist 
in  the  line. 

It  is  from  this  necessity  of  beating,  oftentimes,  very 
extensive  tracts  of  land  before  finding  birds,  and  there- 
fore beating  very  rapidlyjf  you  would  find  birds  betimes, 
that  I  so  greatly  prefer  and  recommend  the  use  of  very 
fast,  very  highly-bred,  and  very  far-ranging  setters,  to 
that  of  any  pointer  in  the  world,  for  snipe-shooting  in  the 
open — apart  from  their  great  superiority  over  the  pointer 
in  hardihood,  endurance  of  cold,  powers  of  retrieving, 
beauty  and  good-nature. 

Of  course,  speaking  of  dogs,  whether  setter,  pointer, 
dropper,  or  cocking-sj)aniel,  it  is  understood  that  we 
speak  of  dogs  of  equal  qualities  of  nose,  staunclmess  to 
the  point,  and  steadiness  at  coming  to  the  charge  the 
instant  a  shot  is  fired.  'No  dog  which  does  not  do  ajl 
these  things  habitually,  and  of  course,  is  worth  the 
rope  that  should  hang  him ;  and  no  man  is  worthy  tlie 
name  of  a  shot  or  a  sportsman,  who  cannot,  and  does  not, 
keep  his  dogs,  whether  setters,  pointers,  or  cockers,  un- 
der such  command  that  he  can  turn  them  to  tlie  right  or 
left,  bring  them  to  heel,  stop  them,  or  down  charge  them, 
at  two  hundred  yards  distance  if  it  be  needful. 

If  these  things,  then,  be  equal,  as  they  can  be  made 
equal,  though  I  admit  a  setter  to  be  more  difficultly  kept 


100  AAIEKIOAN    GAME. 

in  discipline  tlian  a  pointer — the  fastest  setter  you  can 
get,  is  the  best  dog  for  snipe-«hooting ;  his  superiority,  in 
other  points,  infinitely  counterbalancing  the  greater 
trouble  it  requires  to  break  and  control  him.  I  am  well 
aware  that  it  has  been  said,  and  that  by  authorities,  that 
the  best  dog  over  which  to  shoot  snipe,  is  an  old,  slow, 
broken-down,  staunch  pointer,  who  crawls  along  at  a 
foot's  pace,  and  never  misses,  overruns,  or  flushes  a  bird. 

And  so,  in  two  cases,  he  is  ;  but  in  one  case,  no  dog  is 
just  as  good  as  he  is,  and  in  the  other  the  argument  is 
one  of  incapacity  to  use  what  is  best,  and  therefore  is  no 
argument. 

If  birds  are  so  thick  on  the  grounds,  and  so  tame  that 
you  can  fill  your  bag  in  walking  over  one  or  two  acres  at 
a  foot's  pace,  a  very  slow  pointer  is  better  than  fa^t  set- 
ters— but  no  dog  at  all,  your  walking  up  the  birds  your- 
self, which  you  can  do  just  as  quickly  as  the  dog  can,  is 
better  than  the  slow  pointer.  Indeed,  on  very  small 
grounds,  very  thickly  stocked,  it  is  by  far  the  most  kill- 
ing way  to  use  no  dog,  but  to  walk  up  the  birds. 

If  a  man  is  so  weak  and  infirm  of  purpose,  or  so  igno- 
rant of  the  first  principles  of  his  art,  as  to  be  unable  to 
control  his  setters,  he  must,  I  suppose,  use  a  slow  pointer ; 
but  it  cannot  matter  what  dog  such  a  man  uses,  he 
never  can  be  a  sportsman. 

If  there  be  a  hundred  birds  lying,  and  lying  well  on 
one  acre  of  feeding-ground,  the  birds  can  be  killed  with- 


THE  AMERICAN   SNIPE.  101 

out  a  dog,  or  with  a  slow  dog,  as  you  will ;  any  man  who 
can  pull  a  trigger  must  fill  his  bag. 

If  there  be  a  hundred  birds  scattered,  wild,  over  five 
hundred  acres  of  ground,  where  are  you  with  your  slow 
dog,  or  your  no  dog  ?  Just  no  where.  While  you  are 
painfully  picking  up  your  three  or  four  birds  with  your 
slow  pointer,  your  true  sportsman,  and  slashing  walker, 
with  his  racing  up-head  and  down-stem  setters,  will  have 
found  fifty,  and  bagged  twenty-five  or  thirty. 

There  are  ten  days  in  a  season  when  birds  are  wild 
and  sparse,  for  one  when  they  are  congregated  and  lie 
hard ;  and  the  argument  comes  to  this,  that  when  birds 
can  be  killed  with  ease,  even  without  a  dog  at  all,  a  slow 
pointer  is  the  best ;  when  they  are  difficult  to  find,  and 
hard  to  kill,  even  by  a  crack  shot,  the  slow  pointer  is  no 
where,  and  of  no  use,  while  the  racing  setters  will  fill 
the  bag  to  a  certainty. 

For  my  own  part,  I  can  say  to  a  certainty,  that  I  have 
had  more  sport,  and  killed  more  birds,  by  many,  many 
times,  when  birds  have  been  widely  scattered,  and  diffi- 
cult to  find,  and  when  I  have  walked  half  or  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  between  every  shot  fired,  than  I  ever  have  when 
birds  have  lain  close,  and  jumped  up  at  every  pace  under 
my  feet;  and  for  a  simple  reason,  that  the  places  in 
which  birds  so  rise  and  lie,  are  rare  and  of  small  extent, 
and  the  days  on  which  they  do  so  few  and  far  apart. 

Therefore  I  %2ij^  friend — for  all  true  sportsmen  I  hold 
friends — choose  well  thy  day,  when  the  air  is  soft  and 


102  AiyiEEICAN   GAME. 

genial,  tlie  wind  south-westerly,  tlie  meadows  green  with 
•succulent  and  tender  grasses,  and  moist  with  the  deposit 
of  subsiding  wafers • — select  thy  grounds  carefully;  in 
such  a  time  as  I  have  named,  the  wide  and  open  marsh 
meadows ;  but  if  the  wind  be  from  the  eastward,  cold, 
squally  and  snow  laden,  then  try  the  bushy,  briery  brakes, 
where  cattle  poach  the  soil,  and  the  marsh  waters  creep, 
or  the  verge  of  the  meadows,  under  the  lea  of  the  maple 
swamp,  or  at  the  worst  the  very  grounds  where  you  would 
beat  for  woodcock  in  July — begin  from  the  farthest  wind- 
ward point  of  thy  beat,  casting  thy  brace  of  setters  off 
from  thy  heel,  to  the  right  and- left,  and  so  often  as  they 
have  diverged  one  hundred  yards,  turning  them  with  a 
whistle  and  a  wave  T)f  the  hand,  so  that  they  shall  cross 
continually  before  thy  face,  down  wind  of  thee,  at  some 
thirty  paces  distant ;  and  so  persevere — if  birds  be  plenty 
and  lie  well,  walking  not  to  exceed  two  miles  the  hour ; 
if  they  be  rare  and  wild,  four  miles,  or  by  'r  lady !  ^yq,  if 
thou  mayest  compass  it.  If  one  dog  stand,  while  the 
other's  back  is  turned,  whistle,  that  he  shall  turn  his  head, 
then  hold  thy  hand  aloft,  with  one  quiet  "  toJio  P^  but  uq 
shouting ;  if  he  be  broke,  he  shall  stand  like  a  carved 
stone.  Then  walk  up  to  the  point  leisurely,  be  sure  that 
thou  go  down  wind,  making  a  circuit  if  needs  be,  with  thy 
gun  at  half-cock,  the  ball  of  thy  thumb  on  the  hammer, 
and  the  nail  of  thy  fore-finger  inside  the  guard,  but  not 
upon  the  trigger.  When  the  bird  rises,  cock  your  gun, 
and  down  him !     If  thy  dogs  do  their  devoir,  they  shall 


THE  AMEEICAN   SNIPE.  103 

drop  to  the  charge  unbidden ;  if  they  do  not,  raise  thy 
hand  with  an  im})erious  gesture,  and  cry  coolly  and 
calmly,  "  Down  charge !  "  but  however  ill  they  behave, 
nay,  even  if  they  run  in  and  eat  thy  bird,  move  not  till 
thy  gun  is  loaded ;  then  calmly  walk  up  to  them,  drag 
them,  pitilessly  scourging  them  all  the  way,  to  the  place 
where  they  should  have  charged,  and  rate  them  in  the 
best  of  thy  dog-language.  I  say  "  scourging  them  piti- 
lessly,^^ because  that  is  in  truth  the  merciful  course  ;  for 
so  one  or  two  whippings  will  suffice,  instead  of  constant 
small  chastisements  and  irritation,  which  spoil  a  dog's 
temper  and  break  his  spirit,  without  conquering  his  ob- 
stinacy, or  gaining  the  ascendancy  over  him. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  they  charge  as  decent  dogs  should 
and  do  charge,  so  soon  as  thy  gun  be  loaded,  lift  them, 
with  a  "  Hold  up,  good  lads !"  and  cast  them  gently  on- 
ward, checking  them  with  a  "  Steady,  dogs  !  "  if  they 
show  disposition  to  be  rash,  until  they  point  the  dead 
bird,  if  killed,  or  draw  on  him,  if  running.  Then,  with  a 
"  Toho  !  Steady ! "  walk  to  their  point ;  pick  up  the  bird 
under  their  noses,  praising  them  the  while,  or  bid  them 
"  Fetch ! "  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case  ; 
but  if  they  retrieve  the  bird  without  pointing  him,  or 
even  after  pointing  him,  until  told  to  "fetch,"  let  chas- 
tisement  not  hide  her  head. 

This,  rest  assured,  friend,  is  the  way  to  do  it. 

For  the  rest,  whether  thou  wear  fen-boots,  or  shoes  and 
trowsers,  or,  as  I  use,  by  deliberate  preference,  arch- 


104  AMEEICAN   GA3IE. 

boots,  corduroy  shorts,  and  leggins,  suit  thine  own  fancy ; 
but  let  thy  shooting-jacket  be  roomy  on  the  chest  and 
shoulders,  and  well  suj^plied  with  ample  pockets.  Let 
thy  gun  be — for  my  choice — of  31  inches,  12  or  14  guage, 
'7|  to  8  pounds.  Let  thy  powder  be  Brough's  diamond 
grain,  or  John  Hall's  glass^-on  no  account  any  other — 
thou  mayest  get  it  of  Henry  T.  Cooper,  in  Broadway, 
"New  York — thy  shot,  ISTo.  8 — thy  caps  Starkey's  central 
fire,  or  Moore  &  Gray's,  or  "Westley  Kichards' — by  no 
means  M^ench,  or  "Walker's,  the  first  of  which  ^,  while 
the  latter  are,  I  think,  corrosive.  Forget  not  to  have  in 
thy  pocket  a  dog- whip,  a  stout "  knife,  a  yard  or  two  of 
strong  cord,  a  pocket-flask,  replenished,  as  thou  wilt,  with 
old  Otard,  or  as  I  recommend  thee,  Ferintosh  or  Glenli- 
vat  whiskey — stick  in  the  seam  of  thy  waistcoat  a  strong 
darning-needle,  headed  with  sealing-wax,  it  is  the  only  true 
and  responsible  gim-picker ;  and  so,  good  sport  to  thee, 
and  health  and  temper  to  enjoy  it ! — as  good  sport,  gentle 
reader,  as  I  trust  myself  to  enjoy  this  coming  week  of 
April,  the  rain-gods  and  the  river-gods  permitting,  and 
the  nymphs  remembering  us,  as  their  long  time  adorer, 
in  their  kind  orisons. 

The  American  Snipe,  established  by  Wilson  as  a  dis- 
tinct species,  is  eleven  inches  long,  bill  inclusive,  and  sev- 
enteen from  tip  to  tip.  Bill  fluted,  two  and  a  half  inches 
long,  the  upper  mandible  the  longest,  terminating  in  a 
highly  sensitive  nob,  brown,  tipped  with  black.  The 
crown  of  the  head  black,  bisected  lengthwise  and  bor- 


THE  AMERICAN   SNIPE.  105 

dered  by  three  yellowish-wliite  streaks.  Above  tlie  eye 
a  dusky-brown  line ;  neck  and  upper  breast,  j^ale  dusky 
brown,  speckled  witli  black  and  white ;  chin  dirty  white. 
Back  black,  bordered  with  two  white  lines.  Scapulars 
velvety  black,  richly  marbled  with  ferruginous,  and 
broadly  edged  exteriorly  with  white.  Wings  dusky, 
all  the  feathers  tipped  with  white,  quills  brown,  exterior 
quills  edged  with  white.  Upper  tail  coverts,  ferruginous, 
tipped  with  whitish  and  spotted  with  black.  Tail  black, 
ended  with  a  chestnut  bar,  tipped  with  white.  Belly  pure 
white  ;  flanks  white  with  dusky  bars.  Thighs,  vent,  and 
under-tail  coverts  white.     Legs  and  feet  pale  green. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  American  Snipe, 
though  neither  webbed  nor  semipalmated,  swims  freely, 
a  fact  which  is,  I  believe,  mentioned  by  no  naturalist. 

On  the  first  occasion  which  made  me  acquainted  with 
this  fact,  I  was  standing  on  the  verge  of  a  narrow  brook, 
of  some  six  or  eight  feet  over,  in  the  act  of  loading  both 
barrels  of  my  gun,  which  I  had  just  discharged,  when 
a  snipe  flushed  by  another  of  my  party,  flew  over  my 
head,  and  pitched  on  an  open  spot  of  muddy  soil,  within 
six  feet  of  me,  evidently  not  observing  me,  as  I  stood 
motionless.  I  watched  its  actions  and  movements,  for 
a  few  seconds,  as  it  pruned  its  ruffled  feathers,  walked 
daintily  about,  picked  up  a  worm  or  two,  and  finally,  to 
my  great  surprise,  took  to  the  water,  swam  cleverly 
across  the  brook  and  ensconced  itself  in  a  tuft  of  rushes, 
whence  I  shortly  afterward  dislodged  and  shot  it. 
5* 


106  A^IEEICAN    GAME. 

On  the  second  occasion,  I  was  sliooting  on  tlie  Cliat- 
^ham  meadows,  in  company  with  Mr.  ISTichoUs,  late  of 
II.  M.  82d  Keg't.  The  birds  were  wild,  the  day  windy, 
and  the  ground  too  wet  for  birds  to  lie  well.  At  last  we 
marked  three  down  together  in  a  small  meadow,  bor- 
dered by  a  very  broad  fen  ditch  of  eighteen  or  twenty 
feet,  and  half  that  dei3th  with  clean  cut  banks,  nearly 
perpendicular.  There  was  nearly  no  covert  on  the 
meadow. 

Our  setters  drew  up  carefully — stood  perfectly  dead 
when  we  saw  them  drop,  looked  wildly  about  for  a  mo- 
ment, much  puzzled  at  seeing  nothing  rise,  then  drew^ 
on  slowly  and  foot  by  foot,  to  the  edge  of  the  broad 
dyke,  where  they  again  stood  steadily.  When  we 
reached  the  bank,  the  three  birds  rose,  out  of  shot,  in 
the  bare  marsh  beyond.  In  all  they  had  run  about  three 
hundred  yards,  besides  swimming  the  brook.  Previous 
to  seeing  that,  I  should  have  fancied  the  birds  had 
taken  wing,  and  beaten  no  further  than  to  the  water- 
course. !N"ow  I  should  certainly  cross  it,  and  try,  before 
abandoning  the  game,  whether  the  dogs  could  not  make 
them  out  on  the  farther  bank. 

To  this,  I  annex  an  account  of  a  veritable  day's  sport, 
which  occurred  precisely  as  it  is  here  set  down,  to  the 
smallest  incident,  to  the  author,  while  shooting  over  a 
superb  brace  of  setters,  purchased  of  that  well  known 
sportsman,  "  Dinks"  of  Amherstburgh,  in  company  with 
a  crack  shot  and  boon  companion,  now  departed. 


SNIPE-SHOOTING.  107 

The  scene  was  Short's  Landing,  in  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware, and  on  the  noble  river  of  the  same  name.  The 
place  "  Eobinson's  tavern" — the  time  daybreak,  on  as 
wild  an  April  morning  as  ever  woke  in  mingled  hail- 
squalls  and  sunshine. 

Spring   Snipe-Shooting. 

"  If  you-  please,  sir,  it's  taime  to  get  oop,"  said  a  cheer- 
ful voice,  with  a  most  marvelous  north-country  burr,  at 
the  best  bed-room  door  of  a  small  way-side  tavern,  in 
the  little  State  of  Delaware,  not  many  miles  distant 
from  the  noble  river  whence  it  derives  its  name. 

"The  deuce  it  is !"  replied  the  lodger,  in  fine  manly 
ringing  tones,  although  the  speaker  was  but  just  awak- 
ened. "  I  did  not  think  that  I  had  been  in  bed  ten  min-' 
utes.  What  time  is  it,  Timothy,  and  how  does  the  day 
look?" 

"  T'  clock's  run  doon ;  and  it  beant  day,"  replied 
Harry  Archer's  famous  body  servant,  who  was  in  one  of 
his  literal  moods,  that  morning,  busying  himself,  as  he 
spoke,  in  stropping  his  master's  razors  by  the  apology 
for  a  light  afforded  by  the  home-made  dip. 

"  Confound  you,  man,  when  will  it  be  day  then,  and 
how  does  the  morning  frame  f*  answered  his  master, 

*  To  "  frame,"  in  Yorkshire,  signifies  "  to  promise,"  "■  to  give  token 
of  becoming,"  as  "the  puppy /rawes  to  be  a  good  one."  *'The  day 
frameR  to  be  fine." 


108  AMERICAN  GAME. 

liimself  adopting  tlie  Yorkshire  phraseology,  half  in  fun, 
half  in  irritation,  to  meet  his  henchman's  compre- 
hension. 

"  T'  sun'll  be  oop  iv  half  an  hoor,  and  t'morn  frames 
vary  badly." 

"  What — is  it  wet  ?  are  we  going  to  have  a- rainy  day  ?" 

"  !Nay  !  it's  not  that  weet ;  nor  it  beant  going  to  ra-ain, 
ay  reckon.  But  it  blaws  raight  doon,  and  t'  sky's  as 
red  as  blude  amaist  i'  t'  east.  It'H  tak' walking  the  day, 
and  shuting  too,  if  think'st  to  mak'  a  bag." 

"Easterly  wind,  Tim?" 

"  E"orwest,"  answered  the  varlet.  "  Noo,  then,  t' 
razors  is  ready  and  t'  hot  wather ;  and  t'  breakfast, 
sooch  as  't  is,  it'll  ready  i'  faive  minutes.  T'  other  gen- 
tleman, he's  been  doon  i'  t'  kitchen,  boiling  t'  eggs  hard 
mair  nor  a  quarter  of  an  hoor." 

"  Hurrah  !  then,  away  with  you ;  and  tell  him  I'll  be 
with  him  before  they  are  hard." 

Nor  was  the  boast  an  empty  one,  or  unfulfilled,  for 
scarcely  ten  minutes  had  elapsed,  before  the  rickety 
staircase  clattered  beneath  the  ponderous  hob-nailed 
half-boots  of  the  sportsman,  and  while  his  companion 
was  still  superintending  the  preparation  of  the  eggs 
which  were  to  furnish  their  luncheon,  Harry  entered 
the  breakfast  room  in  full  fig,  corduroy  breeches,  leather 
leggins,  broad-skirted,  many-pocketed  shooting  coat, 
and  wide-leaved  felt  hat. 

"  The  top  of  the  morning  to  you,  Charley ;"  said  he, 


SNIPE-SHOOTING.  109 

as  he  came  in,  addressing  tlie  Baltimorean,  wlio  was 
booted  to  tlie  liip,  ready  for  action. 

"  The  bottom  of  the  night,  rather  ;"  replied  Charley 
laughing.  "  It's  an  awful  state  of  society,  when  a  fel- 
low's dragged  out  of  bed  by  an  insane  Yorkshireman, 
two  hours  before  day-break,  and  made  to  get  into  his 
boots,  whether  or  no." 

"  It  must  have  been  something  of  a  job  to  get  into 
yours,  I  should  think  ;  but  I'll  tell  you  what,  if  we  get 
the  birds  into  a  bit  of  tussocky  bog,  where  we  shall  find 
them,  if  we  find  them  anywhere  to-day,  you'll  get  out  of 
them,  I  fancy,  a  plaguy  deal  quicker  than  you  got  in  ; 
for  they'll  stick  fast  as  sure  as  mud's  mud — and  the  mud 
there,  or  clay,  rather,  is  better  than  any  boot-jack." 

"  The  Lord's  will  be  do'ne — "  answered  the  other ; 
"  at  all  events,  I  shall  keep  dry  ten  minutes  longer  than 
you." 

"True,  O  king!  Now,  Timothy,  take  half  that  loaf  of 
rye  bread,  cut  it  into  chunks,  and  give  the  dogs  their 
breakfast." 

"  Which  dogs  are  you  going  to  take  to-day,  Harry  ?" 

" '  Dinks'  and  '  Bob' — ^the  orange  and  white,  and  the 
black  and  white  Eussian." 

"  Dinks  is  the  greatest  beauty  and  Bob  the  greatest 
brute  I  ever  set  my  eyes  upon." 

"  If  you  don't  change  your  tune  before  night,  you  may 
eat  me.    Any  one  can  see  that  Dinks  is  by  far  the  hand- 


110  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

somer,  but  Bob  is  the  very  best  dog  I  ever  pulled  a  trig- 
ger over  in  my  life.     That's  all." 

"  But  I  thought  you  said  they  had  never  seen  snipe.'' 

"  I  said  they  had  never  been  hunted  upon  snipe,  or 
allowed  to  point  them.  English-broke  setters,  are  very 
apt  to  be  whipped  off  snipe,  for  it's  a  horrid  bore  in 
moor-shooting,  to  toil  half  a  mile  or  better  up  hill  to  a 
steady  point,  and  then  instead  of  a  pack  of  grouse,  to 
flush  what  Colquhoun  calls  a  '  twiddling  snipe.'  These 
dogs  were  broke  in  England,  and  re-broke  in  Canada 
West." 

"  And  are  there  no  snipe  there  ?" 

"  So  many,  and  they  lie  so  hard,  that  dogs  are  useless. 
On  the  regular  snipe  grounds,  they  walk  them  up." 

"  And  how  do  you  expect  these  dogs  to  point  snipe 
now?" 

"  I  do  not  expect  them  to  point  snipe  at  first ;  but  as 
soon  as  they  find  we  are  shooting  them,  they'll  point 
them  fast  enough,  I  promise  you." 

"You  think  so?" 

"  No.  I  know  so.  I  would  bet  a  hundred  to  ^yq,  if 
I  were  a  betting  man,  that  before  night  they  point,  and 
back,  and  find  dead  too,  on  snipe  as  steadily  as  ever  you 
saw  dogs." 

"  May  be  so ;  but  it's  new  to  me.  Do  you  mean  to 
say  that  good  dogs  will  stand  anything  ?" 

"  I  mean  to  say  that  good  dogs  can  be  broke  to  stand 
on  anything,  or — ^nothing." 


SNlPE-SHOOTma.  Ill 

"  On  anything !  on  any  game  you  mean." 

"  I  mean,  precisely,  what  I  say — on  anything.  And 
that  is  the  reason  why  I  checked  you  for  shooting  a 
meadow-lark  over  them  the  other  day,  and  why  I  am  so 
particular  as  to  the  '  who'  I  take  out  with  me.  If  small 
birds  are  killed  indiscriminately  with  game,  over  dogs, 
before  many  days  you  wdll  have  as  dead  points  at  larks 
and  brown  thrushes,  as  at  quail  and  ruiFed  grouse.  If  a 
man  shoots  pigeons,  larks,  and  black-birds,  or  even 
reed-birds,  for  that  matter,  over  my  setters,  he  may  do 
so  once,  but  he  will  have  no  second  chance,  I  promise 
you." 

"  I  expect  to  see  these  dogs  of  yours  paragons.  They 
ought  to  be  such,  by  all  the  trouble  you  take  with  them. 
I  know  no  one  who  insists  so  much  on  doing  every  thing 
ship  shape." 

"  They  are  good  dogs.  The  best  broke  dogs,  to  my 
mind,  that  I  have  seen  in  this  country ;  but  this  is  no 
fair  opportunity  to  judge  them.  Their  forte  is  high  fast 
ranging  for  quail ;  and  they  are  going  to  be  tried  to-day, 
in  ground,  and  upon  game,  such  as  they  never  have 
seen.  But  come ;  you  seem  to  have  finished  that  abomi- 
nable coffee,  so  we  had  better  get  under  way  at  once. 
It  is  a  wild,  bad  morning,  and  the  birds  will  scarcely 
lie ;  and  if  we  want  to  make  anything  like  a  bag,  we 
shall  have  to  fag  hard  for  it." 

Thereupon,  without  further  words,  the  two  friends 
took  up  their  guns  and  got  under  way  ;  Timothy  follow- 


112  AMERICAN  GAME. 

ing,  game-bag  on  shoulder  and  cndgel  in  hand,  the  two 
setters,  just  released  from  the  chain,  gambolling  about 
in  the  highest  sj)irits  and  most  admirable  condition,  as 
was  evinced  by  the  moist  coolness  of  their  jet-black 
noses,  and  the  silky  gloss  of  their  deeply  feathered 
coats. 

"  There  is  a  piece  of  wild  meadow  here,  Charley," 
said  Archer,  pointing  across  a  pair  of  bars  to  the  right, 
"  which,  before  the  banks  were  broke,  and  the  tide  got  in, 
used  to  be  the  first  in  the  country  for  spring  shooting. 
There  are  a  good  many  birds  in  it  now,  I  dare  say,  for  it 
has  got  plenty  of  covert,  and  they  will  seek  covert  in 
such  a  wind  as  this." 

"  Let  us  try  it,  then,  if  you  say  so." 

"  It  is  most  infernal  walking,  but  it  wont  do  to  stick 
at  trifles.  So  here  goes,"  and  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,  he  strode  across  the  fence,  and  at  the  first  step 
was  mid-leg  deep  in  a  soft  rust-colored  sludge,  half 
semi-liquid  mud  and  half  semi-decomposed  vegetable 
matter.  A  few  floundering  strides  through  this  Sirbo- 
nian  bog,  brought  them  to  drier,  if  not  sounder  ground, 
w^hich  was,  in  truth,  even  harder  walking  than  before, 
as  the  soil  was  here  so  tenacious  that  it  was  difiicult  to 
draw  the  leg  out  of  the  mire,  into  which  it  sunk  ankle 
deep.  In  places,  this  was  covered  by  high  reeds,  stand- 
ing wide  apart,  with  splashes  of  shallow  water  covering 
the  surface,  and  here  the  bottom  was  harder ;  in  others, 
a  rank,  short,  rushy  grass,  which  had  probably  been 


SNIPE-SHOOTING.  113 

burnt  over,  some  two  years  before,  grew  thick  and  mat- 
ted on  the  loose  rotten  soil,  through  which,  every  few 
yards  asunder,  soaked  little  rills  of  nearly  stagnant 
water,  indicated  more  by  the  blackness  and  ooziness  of 
their  muddy  channels,  than  by  any  visible  stream  or 
current. 

The  setters  looked  at  one  another  wistfully,  and  then 
at  their  master,  as  if  they  wondered  what  the  deuce  they 
were  expected  to  do  in  such  ground  as  that,  and  when 
at  length  in  obedience  to  his  "  hold  up,  good  lads  !"  and 
tlie  wafture  of  his  hand  to  the  right  and  left,  they  broke 
off,  and  began  to  quarter  their  ground  steadily  and 
beautifully,  crossing  each  other  in  regular  diagonal 
lines ;  they  did  not  beat  at  their  usual  dashing  gallop, 
heads  up  and  stel'ns  down,  as  they  would  have  done, 
had  they  been  beating  for  quail,  but  felt  their  way,  as  it 
were,  gingerly  and  fearfully,  keeping  at  a  trot,  though 
they  whipped  their  flanks  all  the  time  with  their 
feathery  stems,  and  often  putting  down  their  noses,  as 
if  to.  seek  for  some  strange  trail  or  scent. 

"  Upon  my  life  !  Harry,"  said  his  friend,  "if  it  were 
not  impossible,  I  should  believe  that  those  dogs  know  as 
well  as  we  do,  that  they  are  after  some  game  to  which 
they  are  unaccustomed  to  day."  ^ 

"  Know  it !  of  course  they  know  it !  Why,  if  we  had 
been  upon  stubbles,  they  would  have  ranged  the  whole 
of  this  piece,  before  this  time.  Ha!  Bob — toho!"  he 
exclaimed,  as  a  snipe  sprung  directly  under  the  black 


114  AMEEICAK   GAME. 

dog's  nose,  wlio  went  on  witliont  taking  the  least  notice 
either  to  stand  or  to  chase — "Toho!"  and  at  the  word, 
the  stannch  brutes  both  came  to  a  stand,  irresolute  of 
course,  and  uncertain,  as  a  stand  always  must  be,  when 
dogs  do  not  know  what  they  are  upon,  but  still,  without 
a  forward  motion,  after  the  word  met  their  ears.  But, 
even  as  he  shouted,  Harry  pitched  up  his  gun  to  his  eye, 
literally  drawing  the  trigger  as  it  rose,  so  that  it  was 
discharged  the  instant  the  butt  struck  his  shoulder — for 
the  bird  had  sprung  wild,  at  least  twenty  yards  off,  in 
the  first  instance,  and  the  wind  blowing  very  fresh,  in 
cold  squalls,  had  gone  away,  as  if 'the  devil  drove,'  di- 
rectly in  the  teeth  of  the  north-wester,  zigzaging  it  with 
all  his  wings,  and  reiterating  his  sharp  squeak,  as  if  in 
triumph.  But  there  was  a  quick  eye,  and  nimble  finger 
behind,  and  a  gun,  that  if  held  straight,  was  wont  to  tell 
a  tale ;  and  when  he  had  got  some  fi ve-and-forty  yards 
away,  the  strength  of  the  charge  struck  him  full,  and 
sent  him,  doubled  up  like  a  rag,  some  six  yards  further 
forward.  At  the  report,  as  is  very  often  the  case,  in 
snipe  shooting,  a  second  bird,  which  would  have  skulked 
and  allowed  them  to  pass  him,  jumped  up  within  three 
feet  of  Archer's  toe,  and  wheeling  half  round  him  to 
get  the  wind,  was  cut  down,  completely  riddled,  before 
he  had  flown  ten  paces.  At  the  second  shot,  the  mead- 
ow seemed  literally  alive  with  birds,  some  thirty  or 
forty  rising  one  by  one,  between  the  young  men  and  the 
dogs,  most  of  them  in  front  of  the  Baltimorean,  and 


SNIPE-SHOOTING.  116 

going  away,  scaipe^  scaipe^  scaipe^  scaipe^  as  who  should 
say,  "  deuce  take  the  hindmost,"  to  the  north-westward, 
ever  as  they  flew  and  squeaked,  calling  up  fresh  legions 
over  the  wide  flat,  until  there  must  have  been  above  a 
hundred  snipe  in  the  air  at  once. 

At  these,  Charley  did  his  work  well,  keeling  a  brace 
over,  very  neatly,  one  of  which  fell  within  a  yard  of 
Bob's  nose,  who  had  gone  down  to  charge  without  being 
bidden,  the  moment  the  report  of  the  first  shot  followed 
the  flash.  The  steady  dog  snuffed  a  little,  and  wagged 
his  tail,  but  did  not  stir,  though  to  increase  the  tempta- 
tion, the  snipe,  which  was  only  wing-tipped,  after  turn- 
ing some  twenty  consecutive  somersaults  under  his  nose, 
made  several  ineffectual  efforts  to  rise,  springing  four  or 
^YQ  feet  into  the  air,  and  screaming  "  scaipe^^  a  qui  mieux. 

"  "Wonderfully  steady,  indeed  !"  said  Charley,  in  pro- 
found admiration — wonderfully  steady.  But  that  was  a 
slashing  shot  of  yours,  that  first  one,  Harry." 

"  Yes !  it  was  some^  as  Bill  Porter  would  say.  I 
wanted  to  kill  that  chap  for  the  dog's  sake,  and  would 
not  have  missed  him  for  a  trifle.  I  had  no  idea  there 
were  such  a  lot  of  them  lying  all  around  us.  I  never 
saw  so  many  birds  on  the  ground  in  my  life ;  if  it  were 
a  still,  warm  day,  we  should  have  rare  sport.  As  it  is, 
we  will  make  out  a  bag.  All  this  has  turned  out  capi- 
tally. I  would  not  be  surprised,  if  you  will  give  me  five 
minutes  to  work  the  dogs  after  my  own  fashion,  to  see 
them  stand  the  next  bird,  after  we  have  retrieved  these." 


116  AMEEICAN  GAME. 

"  Take  your  own  time — I  am  ready.  At  all  events,  I 
will  say  now  that  I  never  saw  better-broke,  or  steadier 
dogs." 

"  ]^ow  then,  bold  up,  good  lads,"  cried  Harry,  waving 
Ms  band  to  tbe  dogs  with  a  low  wbistle,  and  walking  up 
to  tbem,  be  encouraged  tbem,  and  cbeered  tbem,  as  be 
made  tbem  find  eacb  one  of  tbe  four  dead  birds,  and 
wben  found,  let  tbem  scent  and  snuffle  tbem  as  mucb  as 
tbey  cbose,  and  even  mouth  them  gently.  After  that,  he 
laid  them  at  a  short  distance  before  their  noses,  and  cry- 
ing "  tobo  !"  made  tbem  stand  and  back,  several  times  in 
succession.  After  this,  be  pocketed  tbe  birds,  apologiz- 
ing to  his  friend,  as  be  came  up,  for  having  kept  him 
waiting. 

"  E"o  need  for  an  apology,  Harry,"  said  be ;  "  on  the 
contrary,  I  am  much  obliged,  for,  like  tbe  dogs,  I  too 
have  been  taking  my  lesson." 

"  Well,  forward,  bold  up  lads !"  and  away  they  went 
again,  tbe  dogs  gathering  courage  as  tbey  drew,  and 
beating  more  boldly  and  carrying  more  liead,  as  tbey 
ranged  forward,  but  still  working  mucb  slower,  and 
more  warily  than  tbey  would  have  done  on  quail.  For 
a  while  tbey  found  nothing,  for  all  tbe  birds  bad  scat- 
tered far  and  near,  at  the  first  distm-bance  of  tbe  feeding 
ground.  After  a  while,  however,  at  tbe  edge  of  some 
tall  flags  in  good  springy  feeding  ground,  Bob,  who  was 
a  little  to  tbe  right,  in  front  of  Charley,  dropped  from 
his  canter  into  a  slow  trot,  straightened  his  neck  and 


f 

SNIPE-SHOOTIKG.  117 

stern,  and  drew  on  in  a  straight  line.     "Look  out,  there 
IS  a  bird  there  !" 

Scaipe  I  scaijpe  1  close  tinder  the  dog's  nose  he  started, 
and  as  he  started,  but  not  till  then.  Bob  stood  stiff.  The 
bird  fell  to  Charley's  shot,  was  recovered,  bagged, 
and  on  they  went,  rejoicing.  Five  shots  and  no  bird 
missed. 

The  next  rise  was  to  Archer.  Two  snap  shots,  right 
and  left,  birds  which  rose  wide  of  the  dogs.  The  first, 
fell  clean  killed — ^the  second,  just  grazed  by  the  shot, 
skated  off,  and  pitched  three  hundred  yards  off.  The 
dead  bird,  Dinks  pointed  dead,  in  fine  style,  Bob  back- 
ing him.  And  twenty  minutes  after,  the  order  was  re- 
versed. Bob  finding  the  hurt  bird,  beautifully,  and  Dinks 
backing  eighty  j^ards  off.  That  bird  took  another  shot, 
but  he  came  to  bag.  After  that,  all  day  long,  the  green 
dogs  worked  like  old  hands,  on  their  new  game  ;  before 
afternoon,  they  were  racing  heads  up  and  sterns  down, 
in  their  old  fashion,  and  yet  neither  of  them  flushed 
another  bird  all  that  day.  Despite  wind  and  weather, 
the  friends  filled  a  heavy  bag,  and  as  they  sipped  their 
peach  brandy,  by  the  fireside  in  the  evening,  Charley 
said,  laughing  :■ — "  Well,  Harry  Archer,  coute  quHl  coitte^ 
1  will  never  doubt  again,  that^  well-broke  dogs  can  be 
made  to  point  anything,  or — nothing !" 
"  And,  is  Bob  a  brute,  now  ?" 
"  Dinks  is  the  beauty,  but  Bob  is  the  best ;  and  that  is 


i 

118  AMEBIC  AN   GAME. 

not  saying  a  little,  for,  on  the  whole,  they  are  the  very- 
best  brace  I  have  ever  seen  together." 

"I  thought  that  you  would  say  so — and  you  have 
had—" 

"  A  right  good  lesson  on  dog-breaking,  so  good  night." 


-    -  THE  STRIPED  BASS. 

Ldbrax  Lineat/us. 

THE   KOCK    FISH   OF   TIFE   DELAWARE   AISTD   SOTJTHWAED. 

This  noble  and  sporting  fish,  which  is  peculiar  to  the 
continent  of  North  America,  was  first,  I  believe,  distin- 
guished and  defined  by  the  late  learned  Dr.  Mitchell, 
of  l!Tew  York,  though  included  by  him  in  the  division 
Perea^  in  lieu  of  Lahrax^  to  which  it  has  since  been 
more  correctly  attributed. 

Dr.  Smith,  in  his  "  Fishes  of  Massachusetts,"  has 
severely  censured  Dr.  Mitchell  for  his  distinguishing  this 
fish,  and  attaching  to  it  his  own  name — ^pronouncing  it  to 
"  be  a  common  table  fish,  known  from  time  immemorial 
all  over  Europe."  Dr.  Smith,  however,  not  Dr.  Mitchell, 
is  the  person  in  error  ;  as  the  Striped  Bass,  Z(Z^<^a?  Line- 
atus^  is  a  purely  American  fish,  entirely  distinct  from  the 
common  European  Bass,  Ldbrax  Lwpus^  which  very 
rarely  leaves  the  salt  water,  preferring  to  spawn  in  the 
sea  baysp  rather  than  to  run  up  fresh  streams  or  rivers, 


120  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

thougli  it  is  said  to  have  been  taken  in  tlie  Tiber,  between 
the  two  bridges,  by  the  ancient  Eomans.* 

There  is  said  to  be  a  variety  of  this  fish  found  in  the 
St.  Lawrence,  which  is  described  as  wanting  the  regular 
distinctive  lines  of  the  Striped  Bass,  and  is  said  to  assume 
a  more  spotty  coloring ;  the  spots,  however,  running  in 
regular  lines,  'G.ve  above  and  five  below  the  lateral  line, 
and  somewhat  resembling  ancient  church  music,  whence 
it  has  been  named  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Smith,  who  has 
done  much  for  Canadian  Icthyology,  Lahrax  Notatus. 
The  Striped  Bass  does  not,  it  appears,  run  up  the  St. 
Lawrence  so  far  as  Quebec ;  at.  least  it  is  so  stated  by  Dr. 
Richardson,  in  his  great  work  on  ^Northern  Zoology ;  but 
is  commonly  found,  acccording  to  my  friend,  Mr.  Pesley, 
the  accomplished  fisherman  and  historian  of  those  wa- 
ters, in  all  the  rivers  of  I^ew  Brunswick,  which  debouche 
into  the  Gulf,  where  they  afford  fine  sport  with  the  large 
scarlet  Ibis  fly,  used  for  salmon-trout,  with  the  smelt 
as  a  trolling-bait,  and  with  the  clam,  or  a  piece  of  lob- 
ster— ^the  latter  a  bait  which  I  liave  never  known  ^  to  be 
used  in  our  waters,  though  from  its  similarity  to  crab, 
which  is  in  great  request  here  at  some  seasons,  its  excel- 
lence need  not  be  doubted. 

'^  Histoire  dcs  Poissons,  cited  by  Richardson,  Fauna  Borcali  Ameri- 
cana. I  should,  however,  entertain  some  doubt,  if  the  identity  of  the 
fish  depends  merely  on  the  identity  of  the  classic  name,  Lupus,  with  the 
modern  name — since  the  Latin  Lupus  is  equally  rendered  Pike,  which 
is  found  in  those  waters. 


THE   STKIPED   BASS.  121 

So  far  southward  as  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay, 
they  are  found  in  abundance  and  of  large  size  ;  and  the 
Falls  of  the  Potomac  is  a  much  frequented  spot  for  tak- 
ing them.  It  is  stated  in  "The  American  Angler's 
Guide,"  that  thej  are  found  also  in  the  rivers  and  bays 
of  Florida.  Such  may  be  the  case,  though  I  have  not 
heard  them  named  as  southern  fish,  even  so  far  as 
Charleston  Bay,  to  which  Tautog  have  been  recently  intro- 
duced, by  friends  of  mine  from  that  region  of  the  United 
States,  while  I  have  the  sanction  of  that  distinguished  Ic- 
thyologist,  the  late  Mr.  Dunbar,  of  ]!Tew  Orleans,  for  believ- . 
ing  that  few,  if  any,  of  our  northern  s]3ecies  are  common  to 
the  southern  waters,  it  being  his  decided  opinion  that  the 
Sheeps-head  of  the  Gulf  is  a  distinct  fish  from  that  of  the 
Atlantic  coasts. 

The  Striped  Bass  is  taken  of  all  sizes,  from  a  few 
ounces,  up  to  seventy  or  eighty  pounds,  which  may  be  set 
down  as  his  maximum  weight.  He  is  of  the  order  Aca^i- 
ih(ypterygi%  or  thorny-finned  fishes,  having  one  or  more 
hard  bony  spines  in  advance  of  each  of  the  soft-rayed  fins. 
Its  gill-rays  are  seven  in  number ;  its  dorsal  fins  consist 
first  of  eight  spines,  second  of  one  spine,  thirteen  soft 
rays ;  the  pectorals  of  sixteen  soft  rays  ;  the  ventrals  of 
one  spine,  five  soft  rays ;  the  anal  of  three  spines,  twelve 
soft  rays ;  and  the  caudal  of  seventeen  rays  ;  the  opercu- 
lum serrated,  suboperculum  has  two  spines,  partly  con- 
cealed by  the  membranes,  no  scales  on  the  opercula. 

The  lateral  line  of  the  fish  is  nearly  straight.     It  is 


122  AMERICAN   GAME. 

covered  witli  large  scales  of  a  metallic  or  nacrous  histre, 
varying  from  reddish  brown,  with  coerular  and  greenish 
reflections  on  the  back,  to  the  brightest  silver  on  the 
belly.  It  has  eight,  or  sometimes  nine  longitudinal  lines, 
the  fourth  of  which  corresponds  with  the  lateral  line, 
the  first  four  running  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
fish,  the  others  becoming  fainter  and  gradually  dying 
away,  as  they  extend  towards  the  tail.  He  is  a  severe  fish 
of  prey  and  very  voracious,  and  is  accordingly  equipped 
with  a  very  powerful  system  of  teeth,  and  his  tongue  is 
rough,  like  a  file,  with  innumerable  rows  of  small  thorn- 
like teeth.  Of  all  species,  which  may  properly  be  called 
sea-fish,  the  Striped  Bass  is,  perhaps,  that  which  most 
afifects  fresh  waters,  for  at  an  early  season  in  the  spring, 
so  soon  as,  or  almost  before  they  are  clear  of  ice,  he 
begins  to  run  up  the  rivers  in  pursuit  of  the  smelt,  to 
which  he  is  a  cruel  enemy  and  persecutor,  and  of  the  shad, 
which  he  follows  assiduously  to  their  spawning  places, 
making  sad  havoc  with  the  roe  of  the  latter. 

Either  of  these,  therefore — ^the  smelt  or  spearling,  or 
any  very  white  and  glistening  fish,  or  even  a  piece  of 
polished  pearl  or  tin  as  a  trolling  bait,  or  in  squidding 
with  a  hand-line — and  the  shad  roe,  potted  and  salted  so 
as  to  preserve  it,  and  attached  to  the  hook  with  a  needle- 
full  of  yellow  silk,  as  a  bottom  bait,  in  rapid  scours  over 
gravelly  ground,  will  be  found  exceedingly  fatal  baits. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  however,  that  excej^t  in  the 
spring  season,  and  in  rivers  up  which  shad  and  smelt 


THE  STEIPED  BASS.  123 

are  known  to  run,  or  on  serf  beaches,  and  in  sea  bays,  it 
will  be  worse  than  useless  to  use  either,  especially  the 
latter. 

In  surfs,  striped  Bass  will  take  the  artificial  squid, 
mistaking  it  for  the  Spearling,  Athernia  Menidia,  the 
Sand-lance,  or  other  small  fry  on  which  they  feed  ;  and 
in  tide  ways,  such  as  Hell-gate  and  the  numerous  pas- 
sages in  that  vicinity,  they  are  frequently  taken  in  great 
numbers,  and  of  very  large  size,  with  that  hideous  ma- 
rine reptile,  the  living  squid. 

In  the  early  spring,  and  in  general  water,  shrimp  are 
probably  the  most  killing  bait,  shad  roe  excepted,  for 
rivers  frequented  by  that  fish.  When  crabs  begin  to 
shed  they  may  be  used  indiscriminately  with  shrimp ; 
the  latter  to  be  fished  with  from  one  to  three  feet  from 
the  bottom,  with  a  float  and  light  sliding  sinker.  In  the 
early  autumn,  crab  on  the  bottom  is  preferred  by  many 
anglers  ;  and  in  some  water  the  soft  clam  is  very  success- 
ful ;  but  in  swift  streams,  where  the  water  is  fresh,  no 
bait,  to  my  fancy,  equals  any  bright,  glittering  fish, 
spearling,  minnow,  killy-fish,  what  you  will,  at  the  end 
of  a  hundred  yards  of  clever  trolling-line,  with  a  bottom 
of  good,  round  single  gut,  two  swivels,  a  l!^o.  1  Limerick 
through  the  tail,  and  a  small  perch  hook  through  the 
lip,  and  a  skilful  hand  to  keep  him  glancing  through 'the 
ripples,  life-like,  till  a  ten-pounder  strikes  him  with  an 
arrowy  rush,  and  whistles  away  some  seventy  yards  of 
line  oif  your  ringing  click-reel,  before  you  know  what 


124  AMEKICAI^   GAME. 

you're  about — for  lie  is  a  deuce  of  a  run-away,  is  your 
ten-pound  Bass,  when  the  barbed  hook  is  in  his  jaws. 

He  has  not  so  much  resource  as  the  Salmon,  does  not 
often  throw  himself  off  the  surface  water,  or  strive  to  fall 
on  the  tightened  line  and  break  it ;  neither  have  I  seen 
him  run  in  often,  if  ever,  upon  the  angler,  or  sulk  at  the 
bottom.  But  I  think  his  first  rush,  if  anything,  is  stronger, 
and  I  am  sure  it  is  longer,  than  that  of  an  equal  salmon. 
He  will  fight  hard,  for  his  time ;  but  his  time,  providing 
you  keep  a  taught  hand  on  him,  make  him  work  for 
every  inch  of  line,  and  mind  not  to  let  him  smash  you, 
either  against  rocks  on  the  bottom,  or  against  piles  or 
stumps,  the  neighborhood  of  which  he  loves,  and  around 
which  he  is  sure  to  twist  you  if  you  let  him,  will  not 
be  so  long  by  twenty  minutes,  as  a  ten-pounder  Salmon 
on  a  fly,  well  played,  with  good  tackle — without  it  you 
have  not  a  chance — and  twelve  minutes  should  have  him 
dead-beat,  and  half-drowned,  with  the  gaff  in  his  glitter- 
ing sides. 

Fly-fishing  is  not  certain  for  Bass  ;  when  they  are  in 
the  humor  to  take,  however,  they  give  fine  sport ;  and  in 
a  fine  spring  morning,  with  a  dark  rufile  on  the  water,  it 
is  worth  the  while  trying.  A  salmon  rod  will  be  re- 
quired for  this  sport,  with  a  reel,  of  course ;  a  single-gut 
bottom,  and  any  large,  gaudy  lake-fly ;  but  none  is,  I 
think,  so  killing  as  that  made  by  the  Conroys,  especially 
for  the  Black  Bass  of  the  lakes,  Gristes  Nigricans^  an 
entirely  different  fish,  peculiar  to  the  St.   Lawrence 


THE   STRIPED  BASS.  125 

basin,  but  equally  killing  for  this  his  congener.  It  has 
four  large  wings,  two  of  the  Scarlet  Ibis,  and  two  of  the 
Silver  Pheasant,  with  a  scarlet  chenil  body.  On  the  St. 
Lawrence  it  is  sure  death. 

Of  squidding  at  night  with  hand-lines  as  thick  as  your 
little  finger,  and  a  live  squid  of  a  pound's  weight  at  the 
end  of  it,  I  speak  not ;  for,  although  in  the  Harlem 
River,  in  littl6  Hell-gate,  and  about  Hog  Island,  the  fifty 
and  sixty  pounders  are  taken  in  that  fashion,  it  is  much 
harder  work  than  fine  sport ;  and,  as  is  the  case,  I  think, 
with  most  game  fish,  the  largest  neither  give  the  most 
sport  to  the  fisherman  on  the  hook,  nor  to  the  epicure  on 
the  board.  The  gamest  fish  for  the  one,  and  the  most 
delicate  for  the  other,  is  the  fellow  that  runs  from  seven, 
or,  by'r  lady,  five  to  ten  pounds  weight,  and  he  will 
work  you  on  the  line,  or  please  you  on  the  platter. 

Of  that  size,  boil  him,  and  serve  him  with  anchovy  or 
shrimp  sauce  and  the  squeeze  of  a  lemon  ;  or  roast  him, 
stufied  with  bread-crumbs,  suet,  sweet  herbs,  lemon  peel, 
and  oysters,  and  basted  with  anchovy-butter,  and  if  you 
don't  say  he's  good,  you  may  take  my  best  rod  and  line. 

If  he's  a  little  fellow,  score  his  sides,  pepper  and  butter 
liim,  and  boil  him — or,  if  you've  a  lot  of  them,  with  a 
bunch  or  two  of  silver  Passaic  eels,  pork,  onions,  pota- 
toes, oysters,  &c.,  cut  them  in  chunks,  and  make  a 
chowder  of  them,  with  the  oysters  on  top,  and  don't 
forget  to  throw  in  a  pint  of  dry  champagne  when  it  boils 
up,  or  to  think  of  Frank  Forester,  after  the  first  plateful. 

After  the  striped  Bass  has  had  his  own  fun  with  the 


126  AMERICAN   GAME. 

smelt  and  shad-roe,  in  tlie  spring,  lie  disappears  from 
among  us  for  a  time,  having -run  up  nearly  to  the  head- 
waters of  his  breeding  streams,  where  he  may  deposit 
his  ova  in  the  clear,  cold  aerated  waters,  running  limpid 
over  yellow  sands  and  bright  pebbles,  which  are  the  best 
suited  to  the  reproduction  of  his  species. 

Soon  after  he  has  performed  this  duty,  he  returns,  far 
less  reduced,  I  know  not  wherefore,  by  the  act  of  spawn- 
ing, than  other  anadromous  fishes  ;  and,  thereafter, 
during  the  hot  months  of  midsummer,  and  the  earlier 
part  of  autumn,  he  is  to  be  found  in  the  estuaries,  and 
the  silver-flashing  surges  of  our  outer  beaches,  where  he 
is  taken  in  great  abundance  by  the  amphibious  popula- 
tion of  those  regions,  with  the  squid  and  hand  line. 

Later  in  the  autumn,  he  again  rushes  up  the  rivers, 
partly  in  pursuit  of  his  prey,  and  partly,  it  is  supposed, 
from  dislike  to  the  tumultuous  seas,  produced  by  the 
winter  storms  ;  since  it  cannot  be,  as  was  once  imagined, 
in  avoidance  of  cold  that  he  winters  in  fresh  water,  for 
it  is  ascertained  that  salt  water  maintains  the  highest 
temperature.  In  the  rivers,  however,  it  is,  or  rather  in 
the  lagoons  and  shallow  bays  at  their  moutli,  that  he 
passes  the  cold  season,  lying  in  a  half  torpid  state  on  tlie 
mud  at  the  bottom  ;  nor  even  here  is  he  safe,  at  least  in 
northern  regions,  for  Mr.  jPerley  states  that  he  is  easily 
distinguished  in  the  shallow  waters,  through  the  clear, 
newly-formed  ice,  which  is  speedily  cut  through,  and 
friend  Zabrax -B.shed  wp  in  scoop-nets  by  the  Micmacsaaid 
Milicetes,  no  sliglit  addition  to  their  frugal  winter  fare. 


V. 

MAY. 


Sul'mo   Foniinulhi. 
NORTH   AMERICA;    LABRADOR  TO  THE  PACIFIC. 


C|e  §reitt  §m%t. 


Anas  Bernida. 


THE  BEOOK  TEOUT. 

Sahno  Fonthialis, 

This  merry  month  of  May  is  the  month  of  all  others 
dear  prescriptively  to  the  trout-fisher.  In  England,  it  has 
been  for  centuries  admitted  the  sweetest  and  the  fairest 
month  of  spring ;  the  month  "  where  sweets  compacted 
lie,  the  union  of  the  earth  and  sky."  Poets  have  sung 
it,  and  traditions  hallowed  it ;  and,  from  the  old  day, 
when  the  hoary  druids  culled  with  their  golden  hooks 
the  sacred  mistletoe,  and  the  young  maidens  were  astir 
before  tiie  morning  star,  to  gather  maydew  in  the 
flowery  meadows,  even  to  this  hard,  real,  unideal  nine- 
teenth century,  the  month  of  May  has  a  character  of  its 
own,  not  with  young  lovers  only,  but  with  the  world  in 
general,  diflerent  from  that  of  any  other  of  the  twelve 
changeful  cycles,  and  differently  hailed  of  men. 

In  England,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  the  aweetest^  with  us 

in  America  it  is  the  first'^  I  had  almost  said  the  only 

month  of  spring.     For,  in  our  western  hemisphere,  the 

winter  hangs  so  heavily,  and  lingers  so  late  into  the 

6* 


130  AMERICAN    GAME. 

lap  of  summer,  that  in  good  truth,  in  some  years,  we 
have  no  spring  at  all ;  and  in  the  most  favorable  seasons, 
the  fierce  and  cutting  north-easters  of  March,  with  their 
whirling  snow-drifts,  their  pelting  hail-stones,  and  their 
incessant  scud  of  inky  storm-clouds,  render  it  the  most 
hateful  month  of  all  the  twelve,  and  to  invalids  the  most 
terrible  and  fatal.  April  succeeds ;  and  if  one  genial 
day,  with  a  soft  breeze  from  the  southward  or  south- 
westward,  and  a  glimpse  or  two  of  watery  sunshine,  call 
the  willow-buds  to  bursting,  and  a  few,  the  earliest, 
meadow-blooms  to  blowing ;  waken  the  whistle  of  the 
blue-bird  among  the  apple-boughs,  and  the  chirrup  of 
the  frog  from  the  morasses,  the  next  is  sure  to  follow, 
loaded  with  sheeted  mists  sullenly  sailing  westward 
before  a  soul-searching  and  ice-cold  gale  from  Labrador 
or  Greenland,  and  the  promise  of  the  year  is  not  only 
deferred,  but,  it  may  well  be,  nipped  outright,  for  that 
the  earth  has  reposed  rash  faith  in  the  fair  but  false- 
seeming  visage  of  the  skies. 

But,  with  May,  if  there  be  any  vernal  weather  coming.^ 
we  have  it  present.  The  fury  of  the  east  wind,  if  not 
quelled,  is  broken ;  and  we  shall  have  green  leaves 
rustling  into  breezy  life,  and  warblers  busy  in  the 
orchards,  brown  thrushes  vocal  in  the  woodlands, 
swallows  skimming  the  pools  and  twittering  in  the 
eaves ;  and  last,  not  least,  trout  flashing  through  the 
glassy  ripples,  as  they  spring  fast  and  frequent  to  clutch 


THE  BROOK  TEOUT.  131 

the  insect  food  wliicli  come  forth  now  so  plenteously  to 
sport  their  little  day  in  the  warm  sunshine. 

Along  the  Atlantic  coast,  indeed,  on  Long  Island,  and 
to  the  eastward,  where,  in  fact,  alone  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  the  United  States  trout  prevail,  fishing  is  per- 
mitted by  law,  and  practised  by  sportsmen,  long  before 
this,  the  true  month  of  the  fly-fisher.  In  March  it  com- 
mences on  the  Island,  where  formerly  was  the  finest 
trout-fishing  perhaps  in  all  the  country  ;  but  where  the 
streams  are  now  whipped  so  severely,  that,  in  spite  of 
stringent  regulations  lately  resorted  to — too  lately — in 
the  vain  hope  of  preserving  them,  the  run  of  fish  are 
declining  in  size  year  after  year,  and  a  good  day's  sport 
is  fast  getting  to  be  a  thing  little  to  be  expected,  scarce 
even  to  be  hoped  for.  In  March,  the  trout  will  rarely 
look  at  the  fly,  and  they  are  caught  at  this  season  for  the 
most  part  with  the  float  and  red,  or  brandling  worm ;  on 
bright,  warm  days,  however,  they  will  at  times  take  the 
artificial  fly,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  very  early  in  the 
season  they  will  rise  at  a  bright,  gaudy  fly,  like  nothing 
in  nature,  which  a  month  or  two  later  they  would  prob- 
ably reject  with  contempt.  Two  or  three  years  ago,  the 
most  killing  early  fly  was  a  scarlet  Ibis  wing,  scarlet  silk 
and  gold  twist  body ;  but  subsequently  it  has  failed  so 
generally,  as  to  have  fallen  into  some  sort  of  disrepute. 
Tlie  flies  especially  recommended  for  this  month,  imita- 
tions of  the  natural  insects,  are  the  red  fly,  blue  dun, 
red  spinner,  great  dark  dun,  cow-dung  fly,  March  brown, 


132  AMERICAN    GAME. 

or  dun  drake,  and  great  red  spinner ;  and  any  of  these 
are  well-proved  and  snccessful  flies  in  England ;  but  in 
this  country  the  fact  is,  that  even  in  the  warmest  regions 
in  which  the  American  brook-trout  is  found,  the  natural 
fly  of  any  kind  is  scarcely  on  the  water  at  all  at  this 
season ;  and  that  one  is  just  as  likely  as  the  other. 
April  brings'  the  golden  dun  midge,  the  sand  fly,  the 
Btone  fly,  the  grannom,  or  green  tail,  the  yellow  dun,  the 
iron-blue  dun,  the  jenny-spinner,  and  the  hawthorn  fly. 
The  third,  fourth,  and  flfth  of  which  will  be  found  very 
tempting  during  the  whole  period  of  spring  flshing ;  as 
will  also,  or  perhaps  1  should  say,  more  so,  the  yellow 
May  dun,  the  black  gnat,  the  downhill  fly,  the  Turkey 
brown,  little  dark  spinner,  yellow  Sally,  fern  fly,  or 
soldier,  alder  fly,  and  green  and  gray  drake,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  particularly,  according  to  the  doctrin- 
aires^ the  flies  of  the  month.  I  confess  that  I  am  not 
myself  a  believer  in  the  use  of  particular  flies,  for  par- 
ticular months  or  seasons,  except  as  regards  particular 
waters ;  and,  in  fact,  such  an  application  is  utterly 
impossible  in  a  country  of  the  extent  of  the  trout-flshing 
region  of  North  America  ;  where  the  months  and  the 
very  seasons  difi'er  by  twenties  and  forties  of  degrees. 
The  trout-fishing  region  of  iSTorth  America  may  be  said, 
generally,  to  extend  from  IS'ova  Scotia  and  Lower 
Canada,  eastward  to  the  feeders  of  Lake  Superior  on  the 
west,  and  from  the  extreme  northern  seas  to  the  Atlantic 
coasts,  eastward  of  the  Hudson.      Westward  of  that 


THE  BKOOK  TROUT.  133 

river,  they  are  scarcely  found  soiitli  of  the  Alleghany 
ridges,  nor  in  the  Western  States  south  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  or  west  of  Michigan,  until  we  reach  the  Pacific 
watershed.*  I^ow,  as  this  district  extends  over  not  less 
than  thirty-five  degrees  of  longitude  from  east  to  west, 
by  fifteen  of  latitude  from  north  to  south,  it  must  be 
obvious  that  no  general  rules  can  be  adopted  which  shall 
be  applicable  to  the  whole  of  that  vast  tract.  In  the 
British  provinces,  and  Lower  Canada,  the  rivers  are  not 
clear  of  thick  ice  until  the  end  of  April  or  early  in 
May ;  and  in  the  western  country,  on  Lakes  Huron  and 
Superior,  the  season,  if  any  thing,  is  later.  On  Long 
Island,  in  May,  trout-fishing  is  nearly  at  an  end ;  on  the 
Callicoon,  the  Beaverkill,  and  the  various  tributaries  of 
the  upper  Delaware  and  Susquehanna,  it  is  then  begin- 
ning, and  is  shortly  after  in  its  perfection.  On  the 
superb  lakes  and  streams  of  Hamilton  county,  'New 
York,  and  of  the  ]S"orth  Eastern  States,  June  is  the 
month  ^^r  excellence  ;  and  probably,  for  those  who  can 
endure  the  pest  of  the  black  fly  and  black  midge,  there 
is  no  such  fishing  in  the  world,  for  extent  of  water,  quan- 
tity, and  size  of  fish,  and  loveliness  of  scenery,  as  the 
former  locality  can  afibrd  to  those  who  are  bold  enough 

*  In  the  Western  and  Southern  States  several  different  fish,  in  nowise 
connected  with  the  trout,  nor  belonging  to  the  same  family  salmo,  are 
known  as  trout.  The  fish  so  called  from  South  Carolina,  southward,  is 
a  variety  of  the  Squeteague  or  wheat  fish,  Otolithus  Carolinensis — that 
misnamed  trout  in  the  West  is  a  species  of  fresh  water  bass,  or  corvina. 


134  AMERICAN    GAME. 

to  defy  the  plague  of  flies,  and  rough  it.  At  the  Sault 
St.  Marie,  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior  into  Lake  Huron, 
where  the  St.  Marie,  a  river  above  a  mile  wide,  rushes  in 
a  sheet  of  glancing  and  foaming  rapids,  doAvn  a  descent 
of  some  twenty-four  feet  in  about  a  mile,  literally  alive 
with  the  most  magnificent  brook-trout,  by  far  the  largest, 
in  the  general  run,  of  any  taken  in  America,  the  season 
does  not  begin  until  very  late,  and  the  fishing  is  not  con- 
*  sidered  to  be  in  its  prime  until  September.  The  fish 
here  are  of  the  finest  quality,  for  size,  beauty  of  color- 
ing, and  excellence  of  flesh.  From  two  to  three  pound 
may  be  considered,  I  think,  as  about  the  average  run  of 
fish,  but  ^ve  and  six  pounders  are  by  no  means  rarities  ; 
and  it  is  on  record  that  one  fish  a  little  exceeding  ten 
pounds,  and  many  exceeding  nine,  were  brought  into 
the  American  fort  by  the  Indians,  a  premium  having 
been  ofi'ered  for  a  ten-pounder.  These,  I  wish  it  to  be 
particularly  observed,  are  not  lake  trout  of  any  variety 
— several  species  of  which  are  found  in  the  same  waters 
— ^but  the  genuine  red-spotted  brook-trout,  with  pink 
sides  and  silver  belly,  and  tricolored  fins,  white,  black, 
and  red,  when  in  high  season.  It  diflers  in  nothing, 
except  size  and  brilliancy  of  tints,  both  the  result  of 
feeding  and  quality  of  water,  from  the  famous  Long 
Island  trout  of  Snedecor's  and  Carman's,  or  from  the 
small  fry,  scarcely  bigger  than  minnows,  which  swarm 
in  every  rocky  basin  of  every  mountain  brooklet  from 


THE   BKOOK  TROUT.  135 

Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and  Yermont,  to  upland  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  fishing  at  the  Sault  St.  Marie  is  difiicult,  because 
it  is  practiced  from  that,  to  one  unaccustomed  to  its  use, 
most  ticklish  of  all  vessels,  a  birch-bark  canoe,  poled  by 
an  Indian  up  the  foaming  rapids,  or  guided  down  them, 
and  held  steady  from  time  to  time  in  the  most  favorable 
spots.  Where,  however,  the  angler  is  so  well  accustomed 
to  his  conveyance  as  to  be  able  to  balance  his  body 
without  bracing  it,  and  move  his  arms  without  danger 
of  upsetting  the  canoe,  the  sport  is  admirable,  the  scene 
enchanting,  and  the  fun  vastly  enhanced  by  the  touch 
of  romance  and  possibility  of  danger,  which,  however, 
with  a  good  Indian  at  the  pole  or  paddle,  amounts  to  no 
more  at  most  than  a  possibility.  The  best  rod  to  use  in 
this  powerful  and  tumultuous  torrent  is  a  tolerably  stiff 
fourteen  foot  fly-rod  ;  the  water  is  so  much  broken,  that 
tackle  may  be  used  which,  from  its  coarseness,  would  be 
quite  out  of  the  question  in  fine  and  clear  waters  ;  and 
the  most  killing  flies  are  large  and  moderately  gaudy 
lake  flies.  Such  as  are  used  on  the  Irish  lakes  I  prefer 
to  the  very  fancy-colored  flies  which  are  often  used  on 
the  Hamilton  county  waters,  and  the  very  best  assort- 
ment of  these  I  have  ever  seen,  were  tied  by  my  friend 
"  Dinks,"  of  Canada  West,  who  has  proved  them  mur- 
derous in  that  locale.  ' 

It  must,  of  course,  be  evident,  that  in  a  paper  limited 
in  length  such  as  this,  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  go  at 


136  AMERICAN  GAME. 

length  into  a  subject  so  intricate  and  so  full  of  details, 
as  the  habits  and  nature  of  trout,  their  haunts,  habita- 
tions, and  all  the  various  devices  for  taking  them  which 
have  been  invented  by  the  ingenuity  of  man. 

Of  fresh  water  fish,  they  have  been  in  all  ages  consid- 
ered the  best  on  the  board  ;  and,  as  fish  of  game,  none 
excej^t  others  of  their  own  family,  such  as  the  salmon, 
the  salmon-trout,  the  grayling,  and  one  variety  of  the 
lake-trout,  are  worthy  of  comparison  to  them;  bold, 
active,  and  fierce  in  pursuit  of  their  prey,  voracious  in 
their  appetites,  so  cunning  and  quick-sighted  that  they 
can  be  deceived  only  by  the  finest  of  tackle,  and  the 
most  exquisite  imitations  of  the  flies  on  which  they  feed 
by  preference  ;  so  vigorous,  determined  and  savage  in 
their  resistance  to  the  hook  after  being  struck,  that  they 
can  be  mastered  only  by  a  rare  combination  of  science 
and  skill,  of  delicacy  and  firmness,  of  perseverance  and 
resources ;  the  capture  of  the  brook-trout  with  the  arti- 
ficial fly  and  single  gut,  or  single  horse-hair,  which  must 
be  had  recourse  to  where  the  streams  are  fine  and  the 
fish  shy,  is  the  very  ne  jplus  ultra^  and  has  ever  been  so 
indisputably  admitted,  of  the  anglers'  art.  Tlie  imple- 
ments are  a  light  twelve-foot  rod,  very  pliable  and 
springy,  and  bending  on  a  strain,  in  an  even  curve  from 
the  second  joint  to  the  tip — I  prefer  a  solid  butt,  which 
gives  more  power  in  leverage  and  resistance  against  a 
strong  run-away  fish,  and  the  spare  tips  can  be  carried 
in  the  handle  of  the  landing-net,  or  gaft' — a  good  clich 


THE  BEOOK  TROUT.  1B7 

reel,  bj  no  means  a  multiplier,  thirty  lines  of  good  hair, 
or  hair  and  silk  line,  with  a  casting  line  of  the  best  gut, 
about  four  and  a  half  or  five  feet  in  length,  and  two  or 
three  casts  of  flies,  twisted  round  your  hat,  each  having 
a  different  fly  for  the  dropper,  to  be  changed,  accordingly 
as  you  find  fish  in  the  humor  to  rise. 

My  own  favorites  are  the  marlow  buzz,  better  known 
as  the  coch-a-bonddlue ;  silver-horns,  black  and  silver 
twist  hackle,  the  green  and  gray  drakes,  the  yellow 
Sally,  the  downhill  fly,  woodcock  wing,  and  red  hackle, 
the  grannon,  or  green  tail,  the  blue  and  yellow  dun  flies, 
and  almost  any  of  the  spinners.  I  am  also  rather  par- 
tial to  the  buzz-dressed,  unwinged  hackle  flies  of  almost 
any  color,  with  red,  green,  black  or  yellow  bodies,  which 
may  be  varied  with  gold  or  silver  twist.  Any  of  these 
I  can  recommend  by  experience  as  killing  flies  ;  I  should 
not  omit  the  small  black  midge,  which  on  some  waters, 
and  in  some  states  of  weather,  is  a  most  killing  lure  to 
wary  fish,  being  very  small,  and  requiring  delicate  tackle. 
"Where  waters  are  much  fished,  and  trout  so  much  per- 
secuted as  to  be  very  shy  of  rising,  sport  may  sometimes 
be  had  by  fishing  at  twilight  with  a  large  white  miller, 
white  hen's  wing,  white  chevil  body  and  black  head, 
and  as  the  largest  and  laziest,  and,  of  course,  fattest  fish 
rarely  pursue  their  prey  in  the  day  time,  but  are  on  the 
feed  all  night,  if  any  sport  is  to  be  had  at  all  in  this 
manner,  it  is  nearly  certain  to  be  good  sport. 

Large  trout  may  be  killed  thus  in  the  upper  Delaware, 


138  AMERICAN  GAME. 

along  tlie  line  of  the  Erie  railroad,  where  the  country 
people  will  tell  you  that  there  are  tio  trout  in  the  river, 
though  the  small  creeks  are  full  of  them.  Tlie  truth  is 
the  fish  in  the  river  are  very  much  fewer  in  number,  but 
as  much  superior  in  size  and  weight.  They  who,  like 
me,  prefer  to  kill  a  one,  two  or  three-pounder  to  ten 
dozen  fingerlings  of  four  or  five  ounces  each,  are  advised 
to  try  the  miller  by  dusk  or  by  moonlight,  and  if  there 
be  a  big  fellow  about,  h,e  is  pretty  sure  to  be  tempted. 

Tlie  trout  does  not,  when  feeding,  travel  or  swim  in 
shoals ;  he  lies  in  wait  in  his  own  peculiar  haunt,  and 
thence  strikes  at  whatever  he  sees  passing  that  tempts 
his  appetite.  This  haunt  is  generally  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  a  stone  or  root,  near  the  head  or  tail  of  a  rapid, 
in  an  eddy  or  swirl  of  the  current,  or  in  the  broken  wa- 
ter caused  by  the  division  of  a  current  above  the  head 
of  an  island  or  shoal,  and  its  reunion  below  it.  Here 
they  lie  with  the  head  up  stream,  perfectly  motionless, 
not  even  wagging  a  tail  or  twinkling  a  fin,  until  their 
object  is  in  view,  and  then  darting  upon  it  with  speed 
that  mocks  the  eye.  They  are  insensible  to  sound,  but 
so  quick  of  sight,  and  so  wary  that  the  mere  shadow  of 
the  rod  projected  across  the  water  will  prevent  their 
taking  a  fly,  however  hungry  they  may  be,  and  how- 
ever skillfully  the  lure  may  be  presented. 

It  is  better  to  fish  down  stream,  away  from  the  sun, 
and  across  the  wind,  if  possible ;  but  the  three  contin- 
gencies are  not  always  compatible.     "When  a  trout  is 


THE   BROOK   TEOIJT.  139 

rising  often,  endeavor  to  drop  your  fly  directly  in  the 
centre  of  the  circle  where  he  bells  np,  and  if  it  alights 
lightly  and  gently  on  the  water,  he  will  pretty  certainly 
take  it.  If  he  takes  it  just  as  it  strikes  the  water,  or 
just  as  it  is  leaving  it,  when  you  are  withdrawing  it  for 
another  cast — ^that  is,  when  your  line  is  perfectly  straight 
and  tight,  he  will  hook  himself;  otherwise  it  is  neces- 
sary to  strike  him,  which  is  done  by  a  very  slight  inde- 
scribable inward  turn  of  the  wrist ;  when  he  is  struck, 
the  great  secret  of  playing  and  killing  him  is  to  make 
him  fight  his  hardest  for  every  inch  of  line  you  give  him, 
never  to  give  him  one  which  he  does  not  take,  and  to 
miss  no  opportunity,  when  his  run  is  over  for  the  mo- 
ment, and  he  is  weakened,  to  reel  in  as  fast  as  you  may 
without  overstraining ;  always  endeavor  to  carry  him 
down  stream,  as  the  gills  are  so  closed  by  the  action  of 
the  water,  and  his  breathing  is  impeded.  If  he  is  mak- 
ing for  a  stone  or  piles  whereon  your  tackle  would  prob- 
ably be  broken,  or  down  a  fall,  so  that  you  must  turn  or 
lose  him,  advance  your  butt,  inclining  your  rod  quite 
backward  over  the  right  shoulder,  so  as  to  make  him 
take  the  full  strain  and  leverage  of  the  whole  length  of 
your  rod  ;  when  he  is  dead  beat,  draw  him  warily  and 
gently  into  the  shoal  water,  or  to  your  boat  side,  slip 
your  landing-net  under,  or  your  gaff  into  him,  and  he 
is  yours. 

If  he  be  above  two  pounds  weight,  stun  him  with  a 
blow  on  the  head,  crossing  by  a  series  of  cuts  parallel  to 


140  AMERICAN   GAME. 

the  gills,  at  about  two  Indies  apart  from  Kead  to  tail, 
cool  him  for  ten  minutes  in  a  very  cold  spring,  or  on  ice, 
boil  liim  in  screeching  hot  salt  and  water,  and  eat  him 
with  no  condiment  but  salt  and  the  squeeze  of  a  lemon. 
If  he  be  under  a  pound,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to 
fry  him,  but  remember  to  use  neither  butter  nor  lard, 
which  are  abominations  to  the  gnostic,  but  the  best  oil 
of  Aix,  and  see  that  the  oil  is  seething  and  the  pan  crack- 
ling hot  before  you  put  them  in.  Garnish  with  fried 
parsley  on  a  very  hot  dish  ;  and  in  whichever  way  you 
cook  them,  eat  them — whenever  you  can  get  them,  that 
is  to  say,  between  March  and  September — ^in  the  north- 
west you  may  substitute  for  the  last  November ;  on  the 
third  of  which  month,  last  season,  I  discoursed  sundry 
in  prime  condition,  at  mine  host  Brown's,  on  the  Sault 
St.  Marie  ;  and  the  taste  is  scarce  out  of  my  mouth  yet. 
I  have  tasted  nothing  like  them  since,  or  expect  to  do  so 
until  next  September,  when,  the  wind  and  weather-gods 
permitting,  I  hope  to  wet  a  line  there,  in  the  Fly-fisher's 
*true  Paradise.  And  may  you  have,  whoever  you  be, 
gentle  reader,  and  wheresoever  you  throw  the  long  line 
and  neat  fly,  such  sport  as  I  anticipate.  . 


i, 


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&A 

THE  BEENT  GOOSE. 

THE  BKANT. — Anas  Bemicha, 

This  beautiful  and  delicious  wild-fowl,  like  several  of 
its  congenors  wliicli  breed  within  the  limits  of  the  Arctic 
Circle,  is  common  to  both  continents  of  Europe  and 
America,  and  is  witli  us  in  the  northern  Atlantic  states 
perhaps  the  most  numerous,  and  certainly  the  most 
esteemed,  whether  as  an  object  of  sport  or  an  article  of 
food,  of  the  varieties  of  this  family,  which  are  common 
upon  our  coasts.  .To  the  Canada  Goose,  or  Wild-Goose, 
as  it  is  more  usually  termed.  Anas  Canadensis^  it  is  uni- 
versally, and  not  undeservedly,  preferred  ;  although,  in 
my  opinion,  the  former  is  itself  entitled  to  a  far  higher 
place  than  is  generally  assigned  to  it  among  the  water- 
fowl of  America.  The  Snow-Goose,  Anas  Hyperloreus^ 
and  the  White-Fronted  Goose,  Anas  Albifrons^  are  so 
rare  that  opportunities  seldom  occur  of  testing  their  com- 
parative excellence.  In  England  I  once  tasted  the  latter 
fowl,  and  found  it  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  Grey 
Lag,  or  common  Wild-Goose  of  Europe,  Anas  Anser^ 


142  A^IEKICAN   GAME. 

which  in  my  opinion  is  inferior  both  to  the  Canada  and  the 
Brent  Goose  ;  and  though  I  have  heard  the  Snow-Goose 
highly  lauded  for  its  delicacy  and  juiciness,  I  believe  we 
shall  do  no  injustice  to  any  in  declaring  the  ^rsmU  facile 
et  nidlo  discrimine  jprincejps. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  habits  of  this  bird  are 
greatly  different  in  England  and  in  this  country,  inasmuch 
as  there  they  are  stated  "  to  spend  the  winter  months  in 
the  rivers,  lakes  and  marshes  in  the  interior  parts,  feed- 
ing materially  upon  the  roots  and  also  the  blades  of  the 
long,  coarse  grasses,  and  plants  which  grow  in  the  wa- 
ter." Here  they  are  entirely  marine  birds,  frequenting 
the  outer  estuaries  of  the  large  rivers,  the  land-locked 
lagoons  or  sea  bays,  which  lie  between  our  outer  beaches 
and  the  shores  proper  of  the  continent,  for  so  many  de- 
grees of  latitude  along  our  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  never, 
so  far  as  I  know  or  have  heard,  entering  our  rivers  proper, 
or  being  killed  in  any  fresh  inland  waters.  So 
strongly  is  this  peculiarity  marked  in  the  Brent  Goose, 
that  when  they  leave  their  feeding-grounds  to  the 
northward,  comj)elled  by  stress  of  climate  in  winter,  for 
lower  latitudes,  and  again  when  they  take  their  depart- 
ure for  the  Arctic  regions,  impelled 

creandse  * 
Prolis  amore,  gravique  cupidine  nidificandi, 

*  By  the  affection  for  the  young  which  they  are  about  to  rear,  and 
the  urgent  desire  of  nidification. — Lucretius  on  Brent  Geese. 


THE   BRENT   GOOSE.  143 

"tliey  collect,"  says  Wilson,  "in  one  lar^e  body,  and 
making  an  extensive  spiral  course,  some  miles  in  diame- 
ter, rise  to  a  great  height  in  the  air,  and  then  steer  for 
tlie  sea,  over  which  they  uniformly  travel ;  often  making 
"wide  circuits  to  avoid  passing-  over  a  projecting  point  of 
land.  In  these  aerial  routes,  they  have  been  often  met 
with  many  leagues  from  shore,  travelling  the  whole  night. 
Their  line  of  march  very  much  resembles  that  of  the 
Canada  Goose,  with  this  exception,  that  frequently  three 
or  four  are  crowded  together  in  front,  as  if  striving  for 
precedency." 

To  such  a  length  is  this  terror  of  the  land  passage  car- 
ried by  the  Brent  Goose,  that  no  doubt  can  be,  I  think, 
reasonably  entertained  that,  in  order  to  avoid  it,  they 
make  the  whole  of  their  vast  migration,  to  and  fro,  from 
their  breeding-places  hither,  and  vice  versa^  in  direct  con- 
tradiction to  the  custom  of  their  congenors,  the  Canada 
Geese,  which  travel  from  point  to  point,  in  direct  lines, 
directed  by  an  instinct  certain  as  the  compass,  and  travel- 
ling the  boundless  wildernesses  and  vast  inland  waters 
of  the  northern  territories,  and  the  cultivated  regions 
which  intervene  between  those  and  their  winter  haunts 
on  the  seashores  of  the  Atlantic,  with  unrivaled  speed 
and  unerring  sagacity.  A  pretty  certain  proof  of  this  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  on  the  northern  shores  of 
Lakes  Huron  and  Superior,  and  in  the  small  rice  lakes 
adjoining  them,  although  abounding  in  their  favorite 
food,  the  eel-grass,  and  frequented  in  myriads  of  millions 


144  AMEEICAN   GA]ME. 

by  the  Canada  Goose,  on  the  breaking  np  of  the  ice  in 
spring,  and  again  at  the  setting  in  of  winter,  the  Brent 
Goose  is  unknown  both  to  the  Indians  and  to  the  white 
settlers  ;  nor  are  they  known  about  the  yet  more  north- 
erly forts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company — short  of  the 
Bay  itself,  where  they  abound — who  regard  the  Canada 
Goose  as  one  of  the  principal,  if  not  the  chief  article  of 
their  subsist^ce. 

The  breeding  place  of  the  Brent  Goose  is  very  far  to 
the  north,  though  not  so  far  as  that  of  the  "Wild-Goose, 
which  is  supposed,  not  without  reason,  to  rear  its  young 
and  pass  the  brief  days  of  summer  of  the-  Arctic  Circle 
in  the  regions  of  the  Pole  itself,  while  the  Brent  has  been 
found  on  its  nests  in  Labrador,  to  the  northward  of  Hud- 
son's Bay  and  in  Boothia  Felix.  Here,  fearless  of  the 
ambushed  gun,  and  the  murderous  battery,  it  revels  dur- 
ing a  few  short  months. in  those  to  it  delightful  solitudes, 
occupied  with  the  charms  of  love,  and  the  cares  of  rear- 
ing its  young.  It  does  not,  however,  tarry  long  in  its 
northern  asylum,  as  it  is  usually  looked  for  in  the  Long 
Island  waters,  and  at  Barnegat,  Egg  Harbor,  and  other 
shooting  stations  on  the  Jersey  coast,  early  in  October, 
and  has  been  seen  so  early  as  the  20th  of  September.  Its 
stay  in  these  places  is  uncertain,  depending  very  much  on 
the  nature  of  the  season,  often  remaining,  if  it  be  open 
weather,  during  nearly  the  whole  of  the  winter,  while 
on  the  contrary,  if  the  bays  are  frozen  early,  it  at  once 
towers  aloft  and  takes  its  way  southward.   It  seems,  how- 


THE   BRENT   GOOSE.  145 

ever,  to  come  southward  continually  by  successive  partial 
migrations,  until  the  freezing  of  the  feeding-grounds 
compel  it  to  march  southwardly. 

The  food  of  the  Brant  is  principally  the  eel-grass,  Zo^^- 
tera  Marina,  wherever  that  favorite  dainty  of  all  the 
aquatic  tribes  is  to  be  found  in  plenty,  and  a  broad-leaved, 
bright  green  marine  plant,  called  by  the  country  people 
sea-cabbage,  which  adheres  to  the  stones  on  most  of  our 
beaches.  After  these  it  never  dives — although  it  is 
remarkable  that  when  wing-tipped  it  is  the  most  dexter- 
ous of  the  family,  often  going  a  hundred  yards  or  upward 
under  water,  and  being  therefore  regarded  as  almost 
impossible  to  kill,  if  not  shot  dead  outright.  At  low  wa- 
ter it  wades  about  incessantly,  tearing  up  its  favorite 
vegetables  by  the  roots,  but  neglecting  to  eat  them  until 
they  are  floated  away  with  the  rising  tide,  when  it  does 
not  take  wing,  as  most  wild-fowl,  but  floats  away  idly  in 
long  lines  with  its  companions,  in  pursuit  of  its  now 
floating  dainty,  and  fares  sumptuously  on  the  proceeds 
of  its  previous  industry.  They  are  not  unpugnacious 
birds,  being  often  seen  fighting  among  themselves,  and 
beating  the  ducks  away  from  their  feeding-grounds ;  their 
cry  is  a  hoarse,  gabbling,  honking  soimd,  very  different, 
however,  from  the  honk  of  the  Wild-Goose,  and  by  far 
more  difficult  to  imitate,  and  is  said  closely  to  resemble,^ 
when  several  hundreds  are  screaming  together,  the  cho- 
rus of  a  pack  of  hounds  in  full  cry. 

On  their  return  from  the  south,  with  renovated  powers, 
7 


146  AMERICAN    GAME. 

in  full,  lusty  health,  rejuvenated,  and  exulting  in  the  ap- 
proach of  their  summer  love-making,  they  are  in  their 
full  perfection  of  plumage,  and  their  utmost  excellence 
for  the  table.  There  is  no  Long  Islander,  and  few  Jer- 
seymen,  who  are  not  fully  awake  to  the  preeminent  merits 
of  a  May  Brant — for  it  is  about  the  fifteenth  of  that 
genial  month,  when  they  for  the  first  time  reappear 
among  us,  the  youth  of  the  past  year  now  in  full  adult 
plumage,  and  not  to  be  distinguished  from  the  adults. 
Tliey  tarry,  however,  at  this  period  but  for  a  few  days, 
ere  they  are  again  up  and  off  to  the  northward ;  still  so 
eager  are  their  pursuers  at  this  season,  that  short  as  is 
their  stay  the  havoc  made  among  them  is  yet  not  incon- 
siderable. 

At  this  season  the  Brant  weighs  about  four  pounds, 
and  measures  two  feet  in  lengtli  from  bill  to  tail,  and 
three  feet  six  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  extended  wings.  Tlie 
bill  is  black,  rather  high  at  the  base,  the  nostril  medial. 
The  head,  and  the  whole  length  of  the  neck,  with  the 
exception  of  a  white  oblong  patch  on  either  side  of  the 
throat,  rich  velvety  black ;  front  part  of  the  breast  cine- 
rious  brown,  each  feather  broadly  margined  with  grayish 
white.  The  upper  parts  blackish  brown,  each  featlier 
margined  with  lighter  brown ;  sides  gray,  margined  with 
white ;  abdomen  and  vent  pure  white ;  quills  and  pri- 
mary coverts  dark  blackish  gray.  Rump  and  middle 
tail  feathers  black,  rest  of  the  tail  grayish  white.  Irides 
hazel ;  legs  dusky.     The  female  is  smaller  than  the  male, 


THE  BBENT  GOOSE.  147 

but  not  to  be  distinguished  from  it  by  any  mark  of  the 
plumage ;  the  young  birds  have  the  wing  quill  feathers 
broadly  tipped  with  white,  w^hile  in  the  old  birds  they 
are  purely  black. 

There  is  a  variety  of  this  line  goose,  pretty  well  known 
on  Long  Island,  the  true  name  of  which  is  Hutchins' 
Goose,  or  Hutchins'  Brant ;  it  is  somewhat  smaller,  and 
in  lieu  of  the  lateral  white  throat  patches,  has  a  white 
gorget  a  good  deal  similar  to  that  of  the  Canada  Goose. 

We  now  come  to  the  modes  of  killing  this  delicious 
bird,  of  which  there  are  four ;  three  of  them,  Tne  judioe^ 
utterly  unallowable,  cockney  and  pot-hunter  like,  and  the 
fourth  unhappily  the  least  profitable  to  the  gunner, 
although  the  Brent  Goose  has  one  habit  which  may  be 
used  to  some  advantage  in  this  the  only  legitimate  mode. 

That  mode  is  the  scooping  out  a  niche  from  the  muddy 
side  of  some  island,  or  point  of  hassock,  kussick,  or  thatch, 
as  it  is  called  in  the  bays,  and  therein  mooring  a  skifi",  or 
Egg  Harbor  boat,  with  its  decks  heaped  with  trash  and 
sea-weeds,  the  gunner  lying  on  his  back  therein,  with  his 
two  heavy  guns  prepared  for  a  passing  flock,  and  hi?, 
decoys  scattered  over  the  calm  waters  in  front  of  him, 
when  i/  a  flock  chance  to  pass,  and,  observing  the 
anchored  deceits,  wheel  down  to  them,  he  is  secure  at 
once  of  sport,  and  of  after  excitement  in  pursuing  and 
picking  up  the  cripples. 

The  disadvantages  to  this  method  are  the  following: 
First,  the  Brant  is  on  our  waters  a  lazy,  inactive  bird, 


148  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

averse  to  rising  on  tlie  wing,  and  rarely  doing  so  unless 
alarmed  by  a  passing  boat  or  the  firing  of  a  gun ;  and 
this  tendency  is  increased  in  consequence  of  its  feeding 
afloat  at  high  water,  without  taking  the  wing  at  all, 
while  the  other  varieties  of  wild-fowl,  as  point  after  point 
is  successively  submerged,  are  compelled  to  take  wing, 
and  cross  the  points  of  hassock,  or  run  the  gauntlet  of 
the  islands  in  going  to  or  returning  from  his  favorite  feed- 
ing place. 

Second,  the  known  aversion  of  this  bird  to  pass  over 
or  near  points  or  islands,  which  is  no  less  manifest  in  its 
transits  up  and  down  the  bay,  than  in  its  longer  voyages, 
for  it  may  be  said  that  it  never  when  on  the  wing  ap- 
proaches the  gunner's  ambush,  or  notices  his  decoys, 
however  temptingly  they  may  ride  and  dip  at  anchor, 
when  near  the  land,  unless  they  be  jammed  down  by  the 
wind  upon  a  leeward  point,  one  of  which  is  always  se- 
lected by  the  best  gunners  who  have  watched  the  direc- 
tion of  their  morning  transit,  and  who  know  how  they 
must  return.  This  difficulty  is  but  partially  compensated 
by  the  habit  of  the  Brant  of  occasionally  swimming  in 
among  the  stools,  and  so  affording  an  easy  and  sure  shot. 
There  is  another  fact,  however,  which,  as  I  said  above, 
may  be  made  directly  subservient  to  this  sport,  and  thus 
it  is — Brent  Geese,  while  feeding,  as  they  drift  about  at 
high  water,  may  be  herded  like  so  many  sheep,  and 
caused  to  swim  in  any  direction  desired,  and  may  be  so 
driven  down  upon  the  decoys,  for  which  they  are  almost 


THE  BRENT   GOOSE.  149 

sure  to  make,  by  rowing  round  and  after  them  slowly, 
taking  especial  pains  not  to  press  their  motions  or  crowd 
upon  them  so  as  to  compel  them  to  take  wing,  when  of 
course,  all  would  be  over.  The  confederate  of  the  gun- 
ner should  therefore  be  wary  and  watchful,  as  well  as 
skillful  with  the  oar,  and  whenever  he  observes  the  fowl 
he  is  driving,  hurrying  and  getting  anxious,  and  pressing 
into  one  compact  body,  he  must  lie  on  his  paddles  en- 
tirely, until  he  sees  his  game  resume  their  feeding  or 
play,  when  he  may  again  take  the  initiative.  This, 
well  done,  is  sure  to  produce  good  sport,  time,  tide, 
weather  and  good  luck  agreeing,  without  which,  neither 
in  Love,  War,  or  Brant  Shooting  can  success  be  looked 
for. 

Let  me  commend  this  method  to  my  friend,  the  true 
and  honorable  sportsman,  who  would  rather  return  home 
at  night  weary  and  cold,  and  with  an  empty  bag  or  boat, 
than  come  loaded  to  his  gunwale  with  booty  obtained  by 
any  indirections,  such  as  those  which  I  shall  be  forced 
to  name  hereafter,  though  with  maledictions  on  the 
inventors,  and  disgustful  contempt  for  the  practicers  of 
them,  as  methods  of  Brant-murdering. 

Let  me  remind  the  sportsman  that  this  kind  of  shoot- 
ing is  practiced  in  very  cold  weather,  in  a  motionless  and 
cramped  attitude,  and  depriving  him  of  the  chance  of 
warming  his  limbs  with  exercise.  He  must,  therefore,  be 
well  and  warmly  clad,  or  he  shall  not  be  able  to  shoot 


160  AMERICAN   GAME. 

tolerably,  mucli  less  to  enjoy  himself  or  win  renown,  let 
the  flocl^s  fly  as  full  and  frequent  as  they  will. 

The  following  dress  I  have  found  the  best — ^those  may 
sneer  who  will,  but  I  think,  and  they  will  find,  when 
their  fortieth  year  brings  crippling  rheumatism,  that  it  is 
wisdom  at  all  times  to  be  as  comfortable  as  one  may,  and 
that  it  is  no  mark  of  manhood,  but  rather  of  very  con- 
temptible folly,  to  lie  cold  and  shivering,  for  the  want  of 
a  few  precautions  which  may  be  easily  taken,  and  will 
make  you  as  much  at  your  ease  as  may  be,  in  a  Dela- 
ware skijff  or  Egg-Harbor  pig-box. 

First,  over  your  ordinary  under-clothes  wear  a  stout 
pair  of  Canada-gray  cloth  trousers ;  over  these  a  pair  of 
long  worsted  stockings,  and  over  these  again  long  pliable 
Canadian  boots.  A  red  flannel  shirt,  and  above  that  a 
guernsey,  with  what  waistcoat  and  shooting-jacket  you 
will,  and  over  all  an  oil-skin  coat,  as  near  as  may  be  of 
the  drab  color  of  the  sedge  and  hassock  ;  on  your  head  a 
woolen  night-cap,  and  above  it  a  gray  tow  hat ;  and — 
though  your  rig  may  terrify  into  convulsions  a  young 
New  Yorker^  with  ends  to  his  white  choker  longer  than 
the  yard-arms  of  a  first-rate — take  my  word  for  it,  it  will 
not  scare  Brant,  Goose,  or  Eed-Head  from  your  stools, 
and  it  will  keep  you,  with  the  aid  of  a  modicum  of 
cogniac,  Jamaica,  or  Ferintosh,  as  your  taste  may  incline, 
cozy  and  good-natured,  while  your  friend,  who  is  too 
manly  to  take  counsel,  is  as  cold  and  as  cross  as  whatever 
is  most  frigid  and  most  fiendish. 


THE   BKENT  GOOSE.  161 

I  recommend — for  reasons  wlij,  too  long  here  to  set 
forward, — see  my  Field  Sports,  vol.  11.,  p.  119 — the  use  of 
two  single  guns  of  16  lbs.  weight,  42  inch  barrels  and  5 
guage,  in  preference  to  any  double-barrel  guns  on  earth 
for  thii^  shooting.  They  should  be  made  without  ribs, 
pipes  or  ramrods — a  loose  loading-rod,  which  is  a  clean- 
ing-rod also,  lying  in  the  boat  when  in  use,  being  adopted 
as  a  substitute.  Tliis  should  be  made  with  a  joint  at  ex- 
actly the  length  of  the  gun-barrel,  so  that  it  can  be  car- 
ried within  it  when  travelling  ;  the  upper  joint  about  6 
inches  in  length,  screwing  into  the  other,  and  fitted  with 
a  knot  at  the  top,  like  a  pistol-charger,  may  be  carried  in 
the  pocket  when  in  locomotion.  Such  a  gun  will  carry 
4  oz.  of  BB,  or  twenty-five  buck-shot,  without  j  ar  or  recoil ; 
use  equal  measures  of  shot  and  Curtis  and  Harvey's  duck- 
ing powder,  to  be  procured  of  Brough,  Fulton-street, 
New  York — and  coarse  felt  pimched  wadding,  and  you 
will  do  your  work  at  eighty,  ay,  by  'r  lady !  or  one  hun- 
dred yards,  and  you  will  not  repent  you  of  following  my 
counsel. 

The  murderous  modes,  which  I  have  so  strongly  repro- 
bated, and  to  which  I  shall  devote  but  a  few  words,  are, 
first,  the  anchoring  batteries,  as  they  are  called,  shallow 
coffin-like  boxes,  supported  by  wide  horizontal  brims 
lying  level  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  covered  with 
sand  and  shells,  and  exactly  resembling  a  bit  of  bare  shoal, 
upon  the  shallows  whereon  the  fowl  feed.  Decoys  are 
placed  around,  and  an  attendant  waits  in  a  skiif  to  secure 


152  AMERICAIT   GAME. 

the  cripples  and  drive  up  fresh  flocks,  while  the  gunner 
lies  perdu  literally  under  water,  until  he  starts  up  to  do 
bloody  execution. 

The  evil  of  this  method,  (of  the  other  two,  which  I 
shall  barely  name,  as  they  are  far  less  practiced,  one,  I 
believe,  only  at  one  point,)  is,  that  fowl,  when  constantly 
harassed  and  disturbed  on  their  favorite  grounds,  while 
in  the  act  of  feeding,  will  rise  high  into  the  air 
and  desert  the  places  in  which  they  are  so  wantonly 
tormented  forever;  whereas  they  may  be  peppered  at 
day  by  day  for  years,  and  decimated  as  they  fly  to  and 
fro  without  connecting  the  idea  of  the  persecution  with 
the  feeding  grounds,  and  without  increasing  in  shyness  or 
decreasing  in  numbers. 

The  second  unsportsmanly  and  slaughterous  plan  is 
running  down  upon  them  before  the  wind  under  sail, 
while  on  their  feeding  grounds,  which  is  easily  done,  as 
the  fowl  appear  wholly  unable  to  distinguish  the  rate  of 
a  sail-boat,  and  let  it  run  closely  in  upon  them  before 
they  will  take  wing.  The  havoc  thus  made  is  prodigious ; 
the  consequences  as  above,  the  permanent  and  entire  de- 
sertion of  the  spots  where  such  brutalities  are  practiced. 
The  last  is  akin  to  these.  It  is  a  necessity  to  the  Brant 
to  sand  and  dust  themselves  occasionally,  and  probably 
to  obtain  small  gravel-stones  to  aid  their  digestion,  and 
they  have  regular  sanding  places,  as  they  are  termed,  to 
which  they  punctually  and  constantly  resort.  This  habit 
observed,  the  pot-hunter  digs  his  hole  in  the  sand-hill, 


THE  BEENT   GOOSE.  153 

watches  his  time,  and  counts  his  slaughter  bj  flocks,  at 
shots.  Like  the  owner  of  the  •  goose  with  the  golden 
eggs,  he  will  find  too  late  that  he  has  killed  his  people  as 
l!^ero  wished  to  do,  at  a  single  blow.  Legislation  has 
been  tried,  against  all  these  three  cowardly  iniquities, 
and  of  course  tried  in  vain.  It  rests  to  see  what  incul- 
cating a  spirit  of  sportsmanship, may  do  ;  but  I  am  little 
sanguine,  seeing  that  true  sportsmanship,  like  the  game 
it  fain  would,  but  cannot,  protect,  decreases  year  by 
year — many  of  those  who  boast  themselves  sportsmen, 
and  here  an  I  would  I  could  name  names,  doing  deeds 
the  foullest  pot-hunter  would  shrink  from,  and  holding 
themselves  as  high  as  ever  in  their  own  esteem,  though 
lower  than  the  lowest  in  the  judgment  of  the  judicious. 

Be  this,  however,  as  it  may  be,  the  only  hope  is  in  the 
efforts  of  the  honorable  sportsman,  and  so  let  him  hope- 
ful ever  of  the  best,  hold  the  helm  steady,  steer  on 
through  squall  or  hurricane,  and  never — whatever  be- 
tide— never  give  up  the  ship ! 


7* 


VL 

JUNE. 

C^e  Ecir-ktasteir  Snip* 

Scolopax  Noveloracensis. 

KOBm  SNIPE,  QUAIL  SNIPE,  DOAYITCITEE. 
THE  HUDSONIAN  GODWIT. 

Zimosa  Hudaonica. 

KIKG-TAILED  MAELIK 

NORTH  AMERICA;    LABRADOR  TO  THE  GULF. 


Sahno  Salar. 
LABRADOR;    BRITISH    PROVINCES;    STATE   OF  MAINE. 


THE  SNIPE. 

THE  HUDsoNiAN  GODwiT. — Limosob  Hfudsonica, 

VulgO.      RING-TAILED    MABLIN. 

THE  BED-BREASTED  SNIPE. — Scolopax  Wovebovacensis, 

VulgO.      ROBIN-BREAST,   QUAIL    SNIPE,    DOWITCHER. 

Under  the  general,  and  very  incorrect  appellation  of 
Bay  Snipe,  and  sometimes  of  Plover,  the  sea-shore  gun- 
ners, and  city  fowlers  who  accompany  them  for  pleasure, 
are  wont  to  include  many  totally  distinct  and  different 
families  of  waders,  each  containing  several  varieties,  and 
all,  though  in  some  sort  connected,  entirely  dissimilar  in 
characteristics,  plumage,  cry  and  flight,  as  well  as  in 
some  peculiarities  of  habit. 

Of  these  families,  the  most  remarkable  are  the  Curlew, 
numenius;  the  Godwit,  limosa  ;  the  Sandpiper,  tringa  / 
the  Tattler,  totanus  ;  the  Plover,  charadrius  /  the  Snipe, 
scolopax  ;  the  Turnstone,  st/rejpsilas ;  the  Sanderling,  cor 
Udris ;  the  Avoset,  recv/rvvrosta  ;  and  the  Stilt,  himantch 
pus  ;  all  of  which  at  some  period  of  the  year  are  visiters 
or  temporary  inhabitants  of  some  portion  of  the  Atlantic 


158  AMERICAN   GAME. 

shores  of  North  America,  from  the  Bay  of  Boston  to  the 
Balize. 

In  the  tepid  waters  of  Florida,  the  great  bay  of  Mobile, 
the  sea  lakes  of  Borgne  and  Pontchartrain,  and  all  along 
the  mnddy  shoals  and  alluvial  flats  of  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi, these  aquatic  races  dwell  in  myriads  during  the 
winter  months,  when  the  ice  is  thick  even  in  the  sea 
bays  of  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake,  and  when  all  the 
gushing  streams  and  vocal  rivulets  of  the  l^orthern  and 
Middle  States,  are  bound  in  frozen  silence.  In  the 
spring,  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  season,  from 
the  middle  of  April  until  the  end  of  May,  these  migra- 
tory tribes  begin  to  visit  us  of  the  northern  shores,  from 
the  Capes  of  the  Chesapeake,  along  all  the  river  estua  • 
ries,  sea  bars,  lagoons,  and  land-locked  bays,  as  they  are 
incorrectly  termed,  of  Maryland  and  Delaware,  the  Jer- 
sey shores  and  the  Long  Island  waters,  so  far  as  to 
Boston  Bay,  beyond  which  the  iron-bound  and  rugged 
nature  of  the  coast  deters  them  from  adventuring,  in  the 
great  flights  with  which  they  infest  our  more  succulent 
alluvial  shores  and  sea  marshes. 

With  the  end  of  May,  with  the  exception  only  of  a  few 
loitering  stragglers,  wounded,  perhaps,  or  wing-worn, 
which  linger  after  the  departure  of  their  brethren,  they 
have  all  departed,  steering  their  way,  unseen,  at  immense 
altitudes,  through  the  trackless  air,  across  the  mighty 
contin^t,  across  the  vast  lakes  of  the  north,  across  the 
unreclaimed  and  almost  unknown  hunting-grounds  of 


THE   SNIPE.  150. 

the  red  man,  to  those  remote  and  nearly  inaccessible 
morasses  of  the  Arctic  Regions  whither  the  foot  of  man 
has  rarely  penetrated,  and  where  the  silence  of  ages  is 
interrupted  only  by  the  roll  of  the  ocean  surf,  the  thun- 
derous crash  of  some  falling  iceberg,  and  the  continuous 
clangor  of  tlie  myriads  and  millions  of  aquatic  fowl, 
which  pass  the  period  of  reproduction  in  those  lone  and 
gloomy,  but  to  them  secure  and  delightful  asylums. 
Early  in  the  autumn,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  in  the 
latter  days  of  summer,  the  Bay  birds  begin  to  return  in 
hordes  innumerable,  recruited  by  the  young  of  the  sea- 
son, which,  not  having  as  yet  indued  the  full  plumage 
of  their  respective  tribes,  are  often  mistaken  by  sports- 
men and  gunners,  unacquainted  with  the  distinctions  of 
natural  history,  for  new  species.  During  the  autumn, 
they  are  much  more  settled  and  less  restless  in  their 
habits  than  during  the  spring  visit,  when  they  are  im- 
pelled northward  by  the  irresistible  cestomm,  which  at 
that  period  stimulates  all  the  migratory  birds,  even  those 
reared  in  confinement  and  caged  from  the  nest,  to  get 
under  way  and  travel,  whither  their  wondrous  instinct 
orders  them,  in  order  to  the  reproduction  of  their  kind 
in  the  localities  most  genial  and  secure. 

Throughout  the  months  of  August  and  September, 
they  literally  swarm  on  all  our  sand-bars,  salt  meadows, 
and  wild  sea-marshes,  feeding  on  the  beaches  and  about 
the  shallow  pools  left  by  the  retiring  tide,  on  the  marine 
animalculse,  worms,  aquatic  insects,  small  crabs,  minute 


160  AMERICAN  GAISIE. 

shell-fisli,  and  fry ;  after  this  time,  commencing  from  the 
beginning  of  October,  they  move  southward  for  winter 
quarters,  although  some  species  tarry  later  than  others, 
and  some  loitering  individuals  of  all  the  species  linger 
behind  imtil  they  have  assumed  their  winter  garniture, 
when  they  are  again  liable  to  be  mistaken  for  unknown 
varieties. 

Of  these  misnamed  Bay  Snipe,  the  following  are  the 
species  of  each  family  most  prized  by  the  sportsman  and 
the  epicure,  all  of  which  are  eagerly  pursued  by  the 
gunner,  finding  a  ready  sale  at  all  times,  although,  7ne 
judice.  their  flesh  is,  for  the  most  part,  so  oily,  rank  and 
sedgy,  that  they  are  rather  nauseous  than  delicate  or 
palatable.  Much,  however,  depends  on  the  state  of 
their  condition,  the  nature  of  the  food  on  which  they 
have  fattened,  and  localities  in  which  they  feed ;  and 
to  some  persons  the  very  flavor  of  which  I  complain 
as  rank,  sedgy  and  fishy,  appears  to  take  the  guise  of  an 
agreeable  haut  gout. 

Tlie  Red-breasted  Sandpiper,  Tringa  Icelandica^ 
known  on  the  Long  Island  waters,  among  the  small 
islets  of  which  it  is  very  abundant,  as  the  "  Robin 
Snipe,"  by  which  name  it  is  generally  called,  owing  to 
the  resemblance  of  its  lower  plumage  to  that  of  the  Red- 
breasted  Thrush,  or  Robin,  Turdios  rrhigratorms^  of  this 
continent.  In  autumn  this  bird  assumes  a  dusky  gray 
upper,  and  white  under  plumage,  and  is  then  termed 
the  "  White  Robin  Snipe."    In  point  of  flesh  it  is  one  of 


THE  SNIPE.  161 

the  best  of  the  Shore-birds.  It  is  easily  called  down  to 
the  decoys  by  a  well  simulated  whistle,  and  is  conse- 
quently killed  in  great  numbers. 

Tlie  Ked-backed  Sandpiper,  Tringa  Alpina,  generally 
known  as  the  "  Black-breasted  Plover."  It  is  a  restless, 
active  and  nimble  bird,  flies  in  dense  bodies,  whirling  at 
a  given  signal ;  and  at  such  times  a  single  shot  will  fre- 
quently bring  down  many  birds.  In  October  it  is  usually 
very  fat,  and  is  considered  excellent  eating.  In  its 
autumnal  plumage  it  is  generally  known  to  fowlers  as 
the  "Winter  Snipe." 

The  Pectoral  Sandpiper,  Tringa  pectm^alis.  This  is  a 
much  smaller,  but  really  delicious  species,  particularly 
when  killed  on  the  upland  meadow's,  which  it  frequents 
late  in  the  spring  and  early  in  the  summer,  and  on  which 
I  have  killed  it  lying  well  to  the  dog,  which  will  point 
it,  while  spring  snipe-shooting.  On  Long  Island  it  is 
known  as  the  "  Meadow  Snipe,"  or  "  Short  ISTeck ;"  on 
the  Jersey  shores,  about  Egg  Harbor,  where  it  sometimes 
lingers  until  the  early  part  of  ISTovember,  it  is  called  the 
"  Fat  Bird,"  a  title  which  it  well  merits  ;  and  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  it  occurs  frequently,  is  often  termed  the 
"  Jack  Snipe."  It  is  these  blunders  in  nomenclature, 
and  multiplication  of  local  misnomers,  which  render  all 
distinctions  of  sportsmanship  so  almost  incomprehensible 
to  the  inhabitants  of  distant  districts,  and  so  perplexing 
to  the  youthful  naturalist.  During  the  autumn  of  1849 
I  killed  the  Pectoral  Sandpiper  in  great  numbers,  to- 


162  AMERICAN   GAME. 

gether  with  the  American  Golden  Plover,  Charadrkcs 
Marmoratus^  and  the  Black-bellied  Plover,  Charadrius 
Helveticus^  on  the  marshes  of  the  A%ix  Canards  river, 
near  Amherstberg,  in  Canada  West,  in  the  month  of 
September,  and  a  month  later  at  Montgomery's  Pool, 
between  lakes  Sincoe  and  Hm-on. 

Of  the  Tattlers,  three  only  are  in  repnte  as  shore-birds, 
the  best  of  the  species,  the  Bartramian  Tattler,  Totanus 
JBart/ramius^  better  known  as  the  "  Upland  Plover," 
which  is,  in  fact,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  the  most 
delicious  of  all  our  game-birds,  being  a  purely  upland 
and  inland  variety,  and  as  such  never,  or  but  extremely 
seldom,  shot  on  the  coast. 

These  three  are,     '  ' 

The  Yellow-shanks  Tattler,  Totanus  Flavipes^  vulgo, 
"  the  lesser  yellow  legs" — a  bird,  in  my  opinion,  of  very 
indifferent  qualifications  for  the  table,  but  easily  decoyed, 
and  readily  answering  the  fowler's  whistle,  and  there- 
fore affording  considerable  sport. 

The  Telltale  Tattler,  Totanus  Yociferus^  vulgo,  "  great- 
er yellow  legs,"  a  less  numerous  species  than  the  former, 
and  more  suspicious.  Its  flesh,  when  it  feeds  on  the 
spawn  of  tlie  king-crab,  or  "  Horse-shoe,"  is  all  but  un- 
eatable, but  later  in  the  season  it  is  in  better  condition, 
and  is  esteemed  good  eating.  A  few  are  said  to  breed  in 
New  Jersey.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  where 
these  birds  are  shot  in  great  numbers  on  the  mud-flats 
of  the  Delaware  from  skiffs,  with  carefully  concealed 


THE   SNIPE.  16S 

gunners,  stealthily  paddled  down  upon  them  till  within 
close  shooting  distances,  these  birds  are  termed  "Plo- 
vers," and  the  pursuit  of  them  plover-shooting ;  of  course 
wrongfully. 

The  last  of  this  family  is  the  Semipalmated  Tattler, 
Totanus  Semipalmatics,  universally  known  as  the  "  Wil- 
let,"  from  its  harsh  and  shrill  cry,  constantly  repeated 
during  the  breeding  season,  the  last  note  of  which  is 
thought  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  that  sound.  It  is  a 
swift,  rapid  and  easy  flyer,  and  though  rather  shy  when 
in  exposed  situations,  can  be  allured  to  the  deco^^s. 
When  in  good  order  the  flesh  of  the  Willet  is  very  pal- 
atable, although  not  so  greatly  esteemed  as  its  eggs, 
which  really  are  delicious. 

Next  to  these  come  the  Godwits,  two  in  number, 
known  by  the  unmeaning  title  of  Marlin. 

The  great  Marbled  Godwit,  Limosa  Fedoa,  the  "  Mar- 
lin." This  bird,  though  not  very  abundant,  is  a  regular 
visitant  of  the  seashores  and  bays  in  the  spring  and  au- 
tumn. It  is  very  watchful,  and  will  pennit  of  no  near 
approach,  unless  some  of  its  fellows  are  killed  or  wound- 
ed, when  it  will  hover  over  the  cripple,  with  loud,  shrill 
cries,  affording  an  easy  opportunity  of  getting  several 
bairels  in  succession  into  the  flock. 

And  the  Hudsonian  Godwit,  Limosa  Hudsonica,  or 
the  "  King-tailed  Marlin,"  is  a  still  rarer  and  smaller 
variety  than  the  last,  of  very  similar  habits  and  of  equal 
excellence  in  flesh.    It  is  far  more  common  in  the  Mid- 


164:  AMERICAN  GAME. 

die  States  than  in  the  Eastern  districts,  and  is  abundant 
in  the  wild  and  barren  lands  far  to  the  northward.  I 
have  seen  it  shot,  likewise,  on  the  swamps  of  the  Aui% 
Canards,  to  which  I  have  already  referred.  This  is  the 
larger  of  the  three  birds,  lying  uppermost,  in  the  group, 
at  the  head  of  this  article ;  it  was  sketched  from  a  fine 
specimen  shot  on  the  Delaware  in  the  month  of  May. 
It  is  thus  described  by  Giraud  in  his  excellent  work  on 
the  Birds  of  Long  Island  : 

"  Bill,  blackish  brown,  at  base  of  lower  mandible  yel- 
low ;  upper  parts  light-brown,  marked  with  dull-brown, 
and  a  few  small,  white  spots ;  neck  all  round  brownish- 
gi-ay ;  lower  parts  white,  largely  marked  with  ferrugi- 
nous ;  basal  part  of  tail-feathers  and  a  band  crossing  the 
rump,  white.  Adult  with  the  bill  slender,  blackish- 
brown  toward  the  tip,  lighter  at  the  base,  particularly  at 
the  base  of  the  lower  mandible  ;  a  line  of  brownish- white 
from  the  bill  •  to  the  eye  ;  lower  eyelid  white.  Throat 
white,  spotted  with  rust  color ;  head  and  neck  brownish- 
gray  ;  lower  parts  white,  marked  with  large  spots  of 
ferruginous ;  under  tail-coverts  barred  with  brownish- 
black  and  ferruginous ;  tail  brownish-black  cast,  a  white 
band  at  the  base ;  a  band  over  the  rump  ;  tips  of  primary 
coverts  and  basis  of  quills  white;  upper  tail-coverts 
brownish-black,  their  basis  white ;  upper  parts  grayish- 
brown,  scapulars  marked  with  darker  spots ;  feet  bluish. 
Length  fifteen  inches  and  a  half,  wing  eight  and  a  half. 

Among  the  various  families  of  birds,  which  are  all 


THE  SNIPE.  165 

known,  as  I  have  stated,  by  the  general  title  of  Bay 
Snipe,  there  is  but  one  Snipe  proper,  and  that  is  one  of 
the  most  numerous,  and  perhaps  the  most  excellent  of 
the  tribes. 

The  Red-breasted  Snipe,  Seolopax  JSfoveboracensis — ■ 
the  ^  "  Dowitcher,"  the  "  Quail  Snipe,"  the  "  Brown 
Back." 

A  brace  of  these  excellent  and  beautiful  birds  are 
depicted  as  thrown  carelessly  on  the  ground,  under  the 
neck  of  the  Ring-tailed  Marlin  in  the  preceding  sketch. 

This  bird  has  the  bill  of  the  true  snipe,  Scolopax  Ame- 
ricanus,  excepting  only  that  the  knob  at  the  tip  of  the 
upper  mandible  of  the  bill  is  less  distinctly  marked.  The 
spring  plumage  of  this  bird,  in  which  it  is  depicted 
above,  is  on  the  upper  parts  brownish-black,  variegated 
with  clove-brown,  and  light  reddish-brown,  the  .second- 
aries and  wing-coverts  tipped  and  edged  with  white. 
Lower  parts  bright  orange  colored  ferruginous,  spotted 
with  dusky,  arrow-headed  spots.  The  abdomen  paler; 
The  tail-feathers  and  upper-tail  coverts  alternately  bar- 
red with  black  and  white ;  the  legs  and  feet  dull  yellow- 
ish green. 

"  At  the  close  of  April,"  says  Mr.  Giraud,  "  the  Red- 
breasted  Snipe  arrive  on  the  coasts  of  Long  Island.  In- 
vited by  a  bountiful  supply  of  food,  at  the  reflux  of  the 
tide,  it  resorts  to  the  mud-flats  and  shoals  to  partake  of 
the  rich  supply  of  shell-fish  and  insects  which  nature  in 
her  plenitude  has  provided  for  it.    As  the  tide  advances, 


166  AMEKICA2T  GAME. 

it  retires  to  tlie  bog  meadows,  where  it  is  seen  probing 
the  soft  ground  for  worms.  In  the  spring  it  remains 
with  us  but  a  short  time.  Soon  after  recruiting  it  obeys 
the  unerring  call  of  nature,  and  steers  for  the  north, 
where  it  passes  the  season  of  reproduction.  About  the 
middle  of  July  it  returns  with  its  young,  and  continues 
its  visit  during  September,  and  if  the  season  be  open, 
lingers  about  its  favorite  feeding  grounds  until  the  last 
of  the  month." 

The  specimens  from  which  the  above  sketch  is  taken, 
were  procured  on  the  Delaware  so  late  as  the  latter  part 
of  May ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  spring, 
1850,  was  unusually  late  and  backward. 

This  snipe  associates  in  large  flocks,  is  very  easily 
whistled,  flies  in  dense  and  compact  bodies  over  the  de- 
coys, and  is  so  gentle  that,  after  half  the  flock  has  been 
cut  down  by  the  volleys  of  the  lurking  gunner,  the  re- 
mainder will  frequently  alight,  and  walk  about  demurely 
among  their  dead  companions  and  the  illusive  decoys, 
until  the  pieces  are  reloaded,  and  the  survivors  deci- 
mated by  a  fresh  discharge. 

Even  when  feeding  on  the  open  mud-flats,  the  Ked- 
breasted  Snipe  is  so  tanie  as  to  allow  itself  to  be  ap- 
proached by  the  sportsman,  with  little  or  no  address,  run- 
ning about  and  feeding  perfectly  unsuspicious,  until  its 
enemy  has  come  within  short  range,  when  it  springs 
with  its  tremulous  cry  only  to  be  riddled  with  the  shot 
of  the  close  discharge. 


THE   SNIPE.  167 

The  other  of  these  birds  worthy  of  the  most  attention 
are, 

Tlie  Sanderling,  Calidris  Arenaria,  which,  though 
very  small,  is  fat  and  excellent. 

The  Black-bellied  Plover,  Charadrius  Selveticus, 
"  Bull-headed,"  or  "  Beetle-headed  Plover,"  a  shy  bird, 
but  frequently  whistled  within  gunshot.  On  the  coast 
it  is  apt  to  be  fishy,  but  when  shot  inland,  and  on  upland 
pastures,  of  superior  quality. 

The  American  Golden  Plover,  Charadrius  Marmora- 
tus,  "the  Frost  bird;"  a  very  beautiful  species  and  of 
rare  excellence  when  killed  on  the  upland,  where  it  is 
found  more  frequently  and  more  abundantly  than  on  the 
shore. 

Tlie  Long-billed  Curlew,  numenius  Longirostris, 
"Sickle-bill,"  a  large,  coarse-flavored  bird,  easily  de- 
coyed. 

The  Hudsonian  Curlew,  numenius  Hudsonicus^  "  Short- 
billed  Curlew,^'  or  "  Jack  Curlew."  Similar  to  the  lat- 
ter in  all  respects,  although  smaller  in  size. 

And  last,  the  Esquimaux  Curlew,  numenius  Boreahs^ 
"  the  Futes,"  the  "  Doe  Bird."  This  bird  feeds  princi- 
pally on  the  uplands,  in  company  with  the  golden 
plovers,  and  on  the  same  food,  mdelicit^  grasshoppers, 
insects,  seeds,  worms,  and  berries.  Its  flesh  is  delicate 
and  high  flavored.  It  breeds  far  to  the  north  and  win- 
ters far  to  the  south  of  the  United  States,  residing  with 
lis  from  early  in  August  until  late  in  November. 


/ 


168  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

"With  this  bird,  although  there  are  numerous  other 
smaller  species,  the  list  of  these  tribes  may  be  held 
complete. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  present  month  until 
late  in  the  autumn,  anywhere  along  the  coasts  and  bays 
of  the  iJ^orthern  and  Middle  States  a  bag  may  readily  be 
filled  to  overflowing  with  these  varieties  by  the  aid  of 
good  decoys  and  skillful  whistling,  or  of  a  skiff  paddled 
by  a  cunning  fowler ;  a  gun  of  8  to  10  pounds  weight,  of 
12  guage,  with  two  oz.  of  No.  5  shot,  and  an  equal 
measure  of  powder,  will  do  the  work.  But  when  the 
work  is  done,  comparatively  the  game  is  worthless,  and 
the  sport,  as  compared  with  upland  shooting,  scarcely 
worth  the  having. 


THE  SALMON. 

Salmo  Solar. 

This  glorious  fellow,  who  is  admitted  on  all  hands  to 
be  the  very  king  of  fishes,  as  regards  personal  beauty, 
strength,  agility,  and  speed,  as  regards  excellence  upon 
the  table,  and  as  regards  the  sport  he  gives  to  the  vigor- 
ous and  skillful  angler,  is  in  this  month  in  his  prime  of 
health,  vigor,  and  perfection,  in  all  those  waters  of  the 
United  States  and  British  Provinces,  wherein  he  still 
exists.  Within  the  limits  of  the  former,  on  the  Eastern 
or  Atlantic  side  of  the  continent,  those  waters  are 
confined  to  a  few  of  the  noble  and  limpid  rivers  in  the 
State  of  Maine  from  the  Kennebec,  eastward,  and  to  one 
or  two  large  streams  of  E'orthern  l^ew  York  emptying 
into  the  St.  Lawrence.  Li  the  British  Provinces  of  IS'ew 
Brunswick  and  Canada  East,  all  the  waters,  whether 
emptying  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy  or  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence,  are  literally  alive  with  this  noble  predatory 
fish,  to  such  an  extent  that  an  accomplished  fly-fisher, 
temporarily  resident  in  the  first-named  province,  "  offer- 
ed in  1850  to  back  himself,  for  any  reasonable  amount 
8 


.170  AMERICAN   GAME. 

of  bet,  to  kill  with  liis  own  hand,  three  hundred  salmon 
in  that  river" — the  E'episiguit  discharging  its  waters 
into  Bathurst  Harbor — "  during  the  month  of  July  next 
ensuing."  I  quote  from  a  letter  of  my  friend  Mr.  Perley, 
the  able  and  enterprising  author  of  the  "  Sea  and  River 
Fisheries  of  JS^ew  Brunswick,"  who  adds,  on  his  own 
account,  "  and  with  any  reasonable  luck  as  to  weather, 
would  readily  win  his  bet.  He  took  last  season,  before 
breakfast  one  day  seventeen  salmon  ;  and  I  have  heard 
of  thirty  being  taken  in  a  day  by  indifferent  fishers." 

Think  of  this,  ye  ambitious  spirits,  who  casting  deftly 
the  long  line  and  the  winged  deceit,  pride  yourselves  on 
basketing  your  dozen  or  two  of  half-pound  trout  at 
ISnedecor's  or  Carman's  on  the  south  side !  Think  of 
this — thirty  salmon  in  a  day  with  the  fly,  and  that  by 
indifferent  fishers  !  Of  a  truth,  the  Xepisiguit,  the  Ris- 
tigouche,  and  the  Miramichi,  must  be  the  paradise  ter- 
restrial, or  aquatic  rather,  of  the  fly-fisher ;  nor  is  it  so 
hard  a  region  of  attainment,  for  from  Boston  the  good 
steamer  Admiral  plies  weekly  to  the  city  of  St.  John, 
and  thence,  on  application  to  the  good  sportsman  whose 
name  I  have  recorded  above,  the  pilgrim  in  pursuit  of 
piscatorial  glory,  shall  be  right  easily,  and  with  a  good 
will,  forwarded  upon  his  way. 

But  to  return  from  this  brief  though  not  impertinent 
digression,  although  the  salmon  is  so  well  known  to  all 
the  dwellers  of  cities  on  the  Atlantic  coast  as  to  require 
no  description,  yet  for  the  benefit  of  inland  sportsmen, 


THE   8AJJM.ON.  lYl 

and  those  especially,  who,  residing  on  the  Susquehanna 
and  the  southern  rivers  generally,  fancy  that  they  possess 
the  salmon,  in  the  glass-eye,  or  pike-perch,  I  shall 
proceed  to  insert  a  brief  description  of  this  beautiful 
glory  of  the  rivers  of  all  northern  latitudes,  alike  on  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  on  the  northern  seas  of 
Europe. 

The  salmon,  fresh  run  from  the  sea,  on  his  first 
entrance  into  the  estuaries  of  the  fresh  rivers,  up  which 
he  runs  to  deposit  his  spawn — of  which  more  anon — is 
perhaps  the  most  perfect  in  shape  of  all  animals,  and  the 
most  exquisite  model  of  marine  architecture  in  existence. 

The  proportions  of  one  in  perfect  condition,  and  a 
large  fish,  are  thus  given  by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  him- 
self an  eminent  and  eager  fly-fisEer,  as  well  as  a  great 
naturalist  and  philosopher — the  length  38 J  inches — the 
circumference  21  inches,  and  the  weight  22  lbs. 

The  head  is  small  and  sharpened,  the  body  thence 
increasing  gradually  to  about  two-fifths  of  its  length,  at 
which  point  its  girth  is  the  greatest,  with  lines  as  shapely 
and  a  curvature  as  evenly  and  gracefully  swelling  as 
those  of  the  entrance  of  the  fieetest  ship ,  that  ever 
walked  the  waters.  Thence  aftward,  like  the  run  of  the 
same  vessel,  it  tapers  far  more  rapidly  and  sharply,  the 
narrowest  point  being  af  four-fifths  of  its  whole  length, 
beyond  which  its  broad,  flat,  deeply  forked  tail,  the 
rudder  at  once  and  propeller  of  this  wonderful  animated 
machine,  expands  to  a  width  all  but  equal  to  that  of  the 


172  AMERICAN   GAME. 

broadest  portion  of  the  body.  The  consequence  of  this 
exquisitely  beautiful  conformation  is  a  combination  of 
vigor,  swiftness,  and  power  of  resistance  to  the  element 
in  which  it  exists  equal  to  that  of  any  known  animal. 
Tlie  dart  of  the  salmon  in  pursuit  of  its  prey,  or  its 
arrowy  rush,  on  feeling  the  sting  of  the  barbed  hook,  is 
comparable  to  nothing  but  the  velocity  of  the  swallow 
in  the  air.  He  runs  up  any  rapids,  it  matters  not  how 
swift,  or  steep,  or  strong,  of  the  mightiest  rivers,  with 
scarce  an  effort ;  he  leaps  all  obstacles,  whether  of  mill- 
dams  or  natural  water-falls,  not  exceeding  thirteen  feet 
in  perpendicular  height,  as  easily  as  a  trained  hunter 
tops  a  quickset  hedge ;  and,  whiat  is  perhaps  the  most 
astonishing  proof  of  his  wonderful  muscular  strength, 
he  can  retain  his  station,  head  on  in  the  teeth  of  a  cur- 
rent, against  which  the  strongest  swimmer  would  not 
presume  to  struggle,  motionless  for  many  minutes 
together,  at  the  end  of  which  a  slight  and  scarcely  per- 
ceptible sweep  of  the  powerful  tail  gives  him,  without 
sending  him  forward,  the  power  of  retaining  his  position, 
as  before,  for  a  similar  interval  of  time. 

When  fresh  from  the  sea,  the  upper  part  of  his  head, 
and  all  his  body  above  the  lateral  line,  are  of  a  deep 
cerulean  blue,  almost  black  along  the  ridge,  and  mellow- 
ing downward  into  lustrous,  pearly  azure  on  the  sides, 
tjie  lower  parts  and  belly  glitter  like  burnished  silver, 
and  the  whole  fish  appears,  when  newly  taken  from  the 
water,  to  be  cased  in  such  silver  and  enameled  mail,  as 


THE  SALMON.  173 

we  read  of  as  worn  by  the  tragic  heroines  of  Tasso's  or 
Ariosto's  poetry. 

A  few  irregular  black  spots  scattered  along  the  back 
and  upper  regions  of  his  sides  seem  to  set  off  by  the 
contrast  the  brilliancy  of  his  general  coloring. 

The  structural  peculiarities  of  the  salmon,  by  which 
he  is  distinguished  from  all  other  families,  are  his  sharp, 
strong,  hooked  teeth,  and  the  number  and  formation  of 
his  fins.  These  latter  are  in  number  seven,  exclusive  of 
the  tail — two  dorsals,  on  the  ridge  of  the  back,  the 
posterior  of  the  two  being  a  mere  fatty  appendage  ;  two 
pectorals,  immediately  behind  the  gills  ;  two  ventrals  on 
the  sides  of  the  belly  about  midway  the  length  of  the 
fish ;  and  one  anal,  midway  between  the  ventrals  and 
the  under  origin  of  the  tail.  The  peculiarity  in  their 
formation  is  that  they  are  all  supported  by  soft-branched 
rays^  as  they  are  called,  in  opposition  to  the  sharp  and 
thorny  spines,  which  are  found  more  or  less  numerous  in 
the  dorsals,  ventrals,  and  anals  of  many  other  families 
of  fish — as  the  perch,  the  bass,  and  others,  one  of  which 
is  the  fish  known  as  the  Ohio  or  Susquehanna  salmon, 
but  correctly  named  the  pike-perch,  or  yellow  sandre. 

By  the  number  and  quality  of  his  fins,  therefore,  the 
salmon  family  may  be  readily  distinguished  from  all 
others ;  no  other  family  having  the  hinder  fatty  dorsal 
fin. 

By  the  number  of  rays  in  the  several  fins,  the  true 
salmon,  or  sea  salmon,  may  be  known  from  the  others 


m 


AMEEICAN  GAME. 


of  his  familj,  as  the  sahnon-trout,  or  sea-trout,  the 
spotted,  or  brook-trout,  the  several  varieties  of  lake-trout 
peculiar  to  the  great  inland  waters  of  this  country,  and 
the  many  other  more  distantly  connected  species  which 
it  is  unnecessary  here  to  enumerate,  though  it  may  be 
well  to  state  that  the  White  fish  of  the  lakes,  the  Otsego 
bass,  the  smelt,  and  the  capelinn,  are  all  of  this  family. 

These  fin  rays  in  the  true  salmon  are  as  follows :  in 
the  first  dorsal,  15 — second  dorsal,  0 — pectorals,  each. 
14 — ventrals,  each,  10 — anal,  13 — caudal  fin,  or  tail,  21. 

I  have  been  more  particular  in  dwelling  on  these  par- 
ticulars, because  I  am  well  aware  that  there  are  many 
good  sportsmen  throughout  the  country  in  the  habit  of 
miscalling  many  fishes,  from  ignorance  of  the  true  dis 
tinctive  marks,  who  will  gladly  receive  information 
which,  as  a  general  rule,  can  only  be  obtained  from 
costly  scientific  works,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  mass  of 
men,  and  entirely  unattainable  in  remote  inland  districts. 
A  little  attention  to  these  distinctions  would  soon  put  an 
end  to  all  the  confusion  now  arising  from  the  application 
of  the  same  names  to  entirely  difierent  fishes  in  different 
sections  of  the  country ;  even  as  a  little  attention  to  the 
habits  and  seasons  of  the  finny,  no  less  than  of  the 
feathery  and  fur-clad  tribes,  would  tend  at  least  to  pre- 
vent their  indiscriminate  and  cruel  destruction  at  seasons 
when  they  are  busy  in  the  work  of  reproduction,  and 
when,  as  it  would  seem  by  a  special  dispensation  of 
Providence,  they  are  unfit  for  the  food  of  man. 


THE  SALMON.  175 

The  salmon,  properly  speaking,  is  neither  a  salt-water 
nor  a  fresh-water  fish  ;  a  change  from  one  to  the  other, 
at  different  seasons  of  the  year,  being  in  his  natural 
state  necessary  to  his  existence,  and  in  any  state  to  his 
greatest  perfection.  The  salt  water  and  the  food  which 
they  therein  obtain,  the  spawn,  namely,  and  eggs  of 
crabs,  and  other  crustaceous  fishes,  are  necessary  to  him 
for  the  recruiting  and  reinvigorating  his  system  after  the 
exhaastion  consequent  on  spawning ;  and  to  these  he  is 
supposed  to  owe  his  great  and  rapid  growth,  the  deep 
ruddy  color,  and  the  exquisite  flavor  of  his  flesh. 

The  fresh  water  of  clear,  cold  spring-fed  rivers  is 
necessary  to  him  for  the  reproduction  of  his  species,  as 
it  is  now  a  proved  and  recognized  fact,  that  the  spawn, 
or^ggs,  of  the  salmon  cannot  be  hatched  or  brought  to 
life  except  in  the  highly  aerated  waters  of  clear,  quick- 
running,  shallow,  fresh  streams. 

If  the  upper  parts  of  all  tlie  rivers  in  the  world  could 
be  closed  against  the  salmon,  as  in  most  of  our  own 
rivers  they  are  by  dams  and  weirs,  the  salmon  would 
cease  to  exist  at  all,  as  they  have  ceased  to  exist  in  those 
rivers  whence  they  are  now  excluded,  but  wherein  they 
once  abounded,  as  the  Delaware,  the  Hudson,  and  the 
Connecticut,  and  thousands  of  others,  even  to  the  outlets 
of  the  small  lakes  of  central  New  York,  where  they 
were  once  common. 

In  July  the  salmon  begin  freely  to  enter  the  estuaries 
of  the  breeding  rivers,  and  after  remaining  for  some 


176  AMERICAN   GAME. 

weeks  about  the  point  where  the  tide  turns,  and  salt  and 
fresh  water  alternates,  as  if  to  acclimate  themselves  to 
the  -change  of  temperature,  proceed  up  to  the  very  head- 
waters of  the  streams  they  frequent,  and  there,  in  the 
gravelly  bottoms  of  the  shallow  rivulets,  deposit  their 
eggs,  to  be  matured  and  ripened  by  the  effects  of  the  air 
and  sunshine.  Thence  they  descend  to  the  sea  again,  to 
recover  health  and  vigor  for  the  ensuing  season,  but  on 
their  descent  they  would  not  be  recognized  for  the  same 
fish  which  ascended  in  the  previous  autumn,  as  they  are 
now  lean,  flat-sided,  big-headed — owing  to  the  diminu- 
tion of  the  body — dingy-colored,  aiid  utterly  unfit  for 
food.  A  male  salmon,  which  from  his  length,  should 
have  weighed  11  lbs.,  in  condition,  being  killed  in  this 
state,  was  found  to  weigh  4J  lbs.  Yet  in  this  miserable 
and  useless  state,  as  well  as  on  the  very  spawning  beds, 
when  in  the  actual  performance  of  their  natural  and 
paternal  duties,  this  noble  fish  is  ruthlessly  and  wantonly 
massacred  to  the  gradual  annihilation  of  the  species, 
and  to  the  extinction  not  only  of  an  admirable  and 
athletic  sport,  but  of  a  considerable  source  of  national 
wealth,  and  a  valuable  branch  of  domestic  and  foreign 
trade. 

Now  it  is  by  no  means  necessary,  either  to  abstain 
from  taking  salmon,  in  almost  unlimited  quantities  at 
the  proper  season,  that  is  to  say,  while  they  are  running 
up  the  rivers  in  summer  and  early  autumn,  provided 
only  that  the  whole  channel  is  not  obstructed  by  stake- 


THE   SALMON.  1Y7 

nets,  or  to  abolish  mill-dams  in  toto,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  destruction,  and  even  insm*e  the  abundance  of  this 
^loble  fish  in  the  waters  whence  it  is  so  rapidly  disap- 
pearing. Only  abstain  from  killing  it  on  the  spawning- 
beds,  when  it  is  in  the  act  of  reproducing  its  kind,  or 
when  it  is  returning  to  the  sea,  weary  and  weak,  and 
unfit  for  food — only  compel,  by  strictly  enforced  law, 
every  mill-dam  owner  to  attach  to  his  weir  or  dam,  an 
apron,  or  sloping  descent,  of  an  angle  not  exceeding  45°, 
twelve  feet  in  width,  over  which  the  water  shall  flow  in 
a  volume  of  one  foot  depth,  and  the  fish  will  speedily 
be  found  in  as  great  abundance  as  ever,  in  all  those 
waters  from  which  he  has  not  as  yet  wholly  disappeared- 
Even  in  those  where  he  is  now  extinct  I  believe  that  he 
could  be  reproduced  by  the  importation  of  small  fry, 
and  if  reproduced,  of  course,  preserved  to  any  extent  by 
the  enforcement  of  proper  laws.  "While  on  this  subject, 
I  would  state,  that  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  supervi- 
sors of  that  county,  an  act  has  been  passed  containing 
all  the  provisions  above  mentioned,  with  regard  to  the 
Salmon  Kiver,  in  Oswego  county,  I  believe,  in  the  State 
of  New  York ;  and  I  trust  that  the  example  thus  set 
will  be  followed,  with  reference  to  the  Oswego  itself, 
and  the  Seneca,  Cayuga,  and  Skaneateles  outlets,  in 
which  case  salmon  would  be  once  more  taken  in  the 
heart  of  the  Empire  State,  and  instead  of  depending  oii 
Maine  and  Kew  Brunswick  for  her  supplies  of  salmon, 
New  York  would  ere  long  be  enabled  to  supply  her 
8* 


178  AMERICAN   GAME. 

sister  cities  on  the  seaboard  with  this  high-priced  and 
favorite  dainty.  It  is  singular  that  in  the  United  States, 
where  so  much  attention  is  given  to  every  other  forai  of 
industry,  every  other  source  of  national  wealth,  so  little 
has  been  paid  to  that  very  valuable  resource,  the  sea  and 
river  fisheries. 

But  now  to  turn  from  the  fish  to  the  fishing.  This 
sport  is  attainable  on  all  salmon  rivers  above  tide-water, 
or  at  about  the  meeting  of  the  fresh  and  salt,  by  the 
sportsman,  dm'ing  the  whole  of  the  month  of  July  and 
of  August,  and  on  some  waters  in  the  earlier  part  of  Sep- 
tember. There  are  but  two  ways  of  taking  the  salmon 
with  the  hook 'usually  practiced  by  sporting  fishermen, 
and  one  of  these  even  rarely  as  compared  with  the  other 
— the  best,  most  scientific,  most  orthodox,  and  most  suc- 
cessful, is  casting  with  the  artificial  fly  ;  the  second, 
which  will  often  kill  good  fish,  when  the  water  is  too 
foul,  after  heavy  rains  or  freshets,  to  allow  their  rising  to 
the  fiy,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  salt  and  fresh,  is  spin- 
ning or  trolling  with  the  minnow,  the  young  trout  in  its 
parr  state,  the  smelt,  or  the  sand  launce,  occasionally  in 
deep,  still  pools,  the  salmon  will  take  a  hook  heavily 
shotted,  and  baited  with  two  large  dew-worms ;  and 
always  and  infallibly  it  will  greedily  seize  one  baited 
w^ith  its  own  roe  potted  and  preserved  with  salt. 

The  former  of  these  methods  is,  however,  slow,  uncer- 
tain, tedious,  and  inferior  both  as  to  sport  and  success  to 
any  of  the  rest.    The  latter  is  so  deadly  and  unerring 


THE  SALMON.  1^9 

that  it  is  regarded,  by  all  true  brothers  of  the  rod  and 
reel,  in  the  same  light  as  shooting  birds  on  the  ground 
would  be  bj  a  genuine  shot,  as  a  pot-hunting,  if  not 
poaching  device,  unworthy  of  the  sportsman. 

I  do  not  of  course  speak  of  kistering  or  spearing 
salmon,  as  that  is  an  iniquity  which  can  only  be  per- 
formed when  the  fish  are  spawning,  practiced  therefore 
neither  by  the  true  sportsman,  nor  the  fair  trader,  but 
only  by  the  greedy,  wanton,  destructive,  cruel  brute, 
who  slaughters  neither  for  legitimate  sport  nor  for  profit, 
but  merely  for  the  wanton  love  of  slaughtering.  "Nor  do 
I  speak  of  net  fisheries,  whether  stake-net  or  seine,  for 
these  are  the  methods  of  capturing  salmon  for  gain,  not 
for  sport  or  pleasure. 

It  is  a  singular  thing  that  very  little  is  known  of  the 
true  food  of  the  salmon ;  for  so  rapid  is  their  digestion, 
that  when  taken  their  stomachs  are  always  found  empty, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  quantity  of  yellowish  fluid ; 
but  it  would  seem  quite  certain  that  while  in  fresh  water 
it  must  consist  principally,  if  not  entirely,  of  small  fish, 
for  the  natural  water  flies,  which  are  the  favorite  food  of 
trout  and  of  themselves  also  when  in  their  infancy,  before 
they  have  visited  salt  water,  they  do  not  condescend  to 
notice  on  their  return  to  the  rivers. 

For  what  they  mistake  the  large  gaudy  artificial  sal- 
mon flies,  at  which  they  rise  so  greedily  on  their  first 
advent  into  fresh  water,  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture ; 
since  there  is  nothing  under  heaven  to  which  they  bear 


180  AMERICAN    GAME. 

even  a  distant  resemblance.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  conjec- 
tures tliat  tliey  may  be  actuated  by  a  vague  local  recol- 
lection, on  returning,  as  they  always  do,  to  the  identical 
rivers  in  which  they  were  bred,  from  the  sea,  where 
they  have  been  feeding  on  a  totally  different  prey,  of 
the  water-flies  which  in  their  childhood  they  were  used 
to  take  on  the  surface,  and  therefore  looking  to  the  sur- 
face for  their  food,  strike  at  the  first  thing  they  see  bear- 
ing a  remote  resemblance  to  a  winged  insect. 

The  implements  necessary  to  the  salmon  fly-fisher  are 
a  powerful  two-handed  rod,  of  sixteen  to  eighteen  feet  in 
length,  composed  of  ash,  hickory  and  lance  wood,  or 
spliced  bamboo,  with  a  solid  butt  fitted  with  a  spike — 
whereby  to  fix  it  in  the  ground  erect  while  changing 
^  your  flies  or  the  like — a  large  click  reel,  on  no  account 
a  multiplier,  a  hundred  yards  of  hair  line,  a  casting  line 
of  the  stoutest,  roundest  and  most  even  salmon  gut,  and 
a  book  of  salmon-flies — the  numbers,  colors  and  varieties 
of  which  are  endless. 

As  good  as  any,  to  my  mind,  is  the  peacock  upper 
and  blue-jay  under  wings,'  gay  silk  body,  red  hackle 
legs,  and  bird  of  Paradise  tail ;  but  the  truth  is,  that 
almost  anything  large  and  gaudy  will  take  salmon,  if 
deftly  and  skillfully  dropped  at  the  exact  time,  and  in 
the  exact  place.  If  they  will  not  take  one  they  will 
another,  and  the  which  is  which  must  be  discovered  by 
experiment. 

The  brighter  and  stiller  the  water,  the  smaller  and 


THE   SALMON.  181 

more  grave  colored  should  be  tlie  fly,  as  a  general  rule. 
Where  tlie  river  is  foul,  or  the  current  much  broken, 
foamy  and  rapid,  the  fly  can  hardly  be  too  large,  or  too 
gaily  colored. 

For  the  rest,  no  writing  can  teach  a  man  how  to  throw 
a  fly,  how  to  strike  a  fish  when  he  has  risen^  or  how  to 
kill  when  he  has  struck  him  ;  practice,  patience,  perse- 
verance, and  coolness  are  the  great  requisites,  and  the 
best  way  of  learning  is  to  accompany  a  good  fly-fisher 
to  the  brook-side,  to  observe  and  study  his  motions,  and 
by  example  more  than  by  oral  instruction  to  acquire  his 
method,  and  by  degrees  approach  his  skill. 

I  suppose  hardly  any  one  would  attempt  to  use  the 
double-handed  rod,  or  attempt  salmon,  who  had  not  first 
learned  to  throw  a  cast  of  flies  from  the  light  rod,  and 
succeeded  in  hooking  a  trout.  I  will  therefore  merely 
observe,  for  the  benefit  of  the  trout  fisher  who  makes 
his  first  essay  on  salmon,  that  it  is  not  advisable,  as  in 
trout  fishing,  to  keep  the  fly  dancing  as  it  were  and  hov- 
ering on  the  surface,  but  to  let  it  sink  a  little  way,  pull 
it  back  with  a  slight  jerk  not  quite  out  of  water,  and 
then  let  it  sink  again,  and  so  on  until  your  cast  is  finish- 
ed, and  you  lift  your  fly  for  another.  Again,  when  a 
salmon  has  risen  at  your  fly,  you  need  not  strike  near  so 
quickly,  and  you  must  strike  much  more  strongly  and 
sharply  than  at  a  trout.  Colquhoun,  in  his  capital  book, 
"  The  Moor  and  the  Loch,"  recommends  that  the  sal- 
mon be  allowed  to  turn  before    striking  him,  and   I 


182  AMERICAN   GAME. 

tliink  the  advice  sound  and  good.  When  he  is  struck 
you  must  make  him  fight  for  every  inch  of  line  you  give 
him,  holding  him  very  hard,  but  of  course  giving  rather 
than  letting  him  break  you,  until  he  becomes  exhausted  ; 
if  he  plunges  to  the  bottom  and  sulks,  you  must  arouse 
him  by  stirring  the  water  with  a  pole  or  pelting  him 
with  pebbles,  for  your  "  only  chance  of  killing  him  de- 
pends," to  borrow  the  words  of  Davy's  Salmonia,  "  on 
his  being  kept  constantly  in  action,  so  that  he  may  ex- 
haust himself  by  exercise." 

When  he  is  wearied  out,  when  he  turns  up  his  broad, 
bright  side  exhausted  on  the  surface,  let  your  assistant 
pass  the  sharp,  hooked  gaff  carefully  under  him,  and 
strike  it  home  by  one  cool,  steady,  upward  jerk,  and  he 
is  yours.  Myself,  I  prefer  to  gaff  in  the  solid  muscular 
tail,  behind  the  ventral  cavity,  as  affording  the  best  hold ; 
but  many  good  sportsmen  prefer  to  strike  in  the  shoulder, 
as  giving  more  command  of  the  fish — so  that  he  i« 
gaffed,  however,  it  matters  not  much  where,  for  he  is 
pretty  certainly  ashore  a  moment  afterward.  I  may 
as  well  here  mention  that  while  on  a  visit  in  Troy 
recently,  I  was  shown  a  new  spring  or  click  gaff,  which 
must  unquestionably  supersede  the  old  hook.  It  is 
easy  of  management,  unerring,  and  can  be  handled  with 
success  by  the  most  awkward  country  lad,  and  every 
sportsman  knows  how  often  he  is  annoyed  by  the  clum- 
siness of  an  assistant  who  merely  grazes  a  beaten  fish, 
and  goads  him  into  fresh  fury,  perhaps  causing  his  event- 


THE  SALMON.  183 

ual  loss,  and  eliciting  naughty  words  from  the  not  tlien 
gentle  fisherman. 

And  now,  kind  reader  mine,  I  have  told  yon  whither 
to  pass  in  pnrsuit  of  yonr  sport ;  I  have  told  you,  so  far 
as  tell  I  can,  how  to  rise,  how  to  strike,  how  to  kill,  how 
to  land  your  fish. 

l^ow  I  will  tell  you  how  to  cook  him — eat  him,  1  doubt 
not,  you  can  without  my  teaching. 

As  soon  as  he  is  out  of  water  stun  him  with  a  heavy 
blow  on  the  l:^ead  ;  then  with  a  sharp  knife  crimp  him, 
that  is,  gash  him  to  the  bone  on  both  sides  with  a  num- 
ber of  parallel  trans vere  cuts,  parallel  to  the  line  of  the 
gills,  at  about  two  inches  asunder  ;  hold  him  up  by  the 
tail  and  let  him  bleed ;  cool  him  for  ten  minutes  in  the 
coldest  spring  or  running  water  you  can  find  at  hand ; 
carry  him  to  the  pot  in  which  your  salt  and  water — - 
nearly  strong  enough  to  bear  an  egg — must  be  boiling 
like  mad ;  in  with  him,  and  let  him  boil  quantum  sitff. 
Then  serve  him  up,  with  no  sauce  save  a  few  spoonsful 
of  the  water  in  which  he  was  cooked,  and  if  you  please, 
the  squeeze  of  a  lemon,  or,  better  yet,  a  lime — but,  "  an 
you  love  me,  Hal,"  eschew  the  lobster  sauce,  and  tlie 
rich  condiments,  as  Reading,  "Worcestershire  or  Soy,  for 
he  is  rich  enough  without,  and  they  will  but  kill  his 
natural  fiavor,  and  undo  his  delicacy. 

And  so  adieu,  and  good  luck  to  you !  Take  my  ad- 
vice, and  when  night  cometh  you  may  boast  that  you 
have  fished  well,  and  dined  supremely. 


184  A]SIEKICA2«^   GAME. 

I  may  here  add,  for  the  information  of  whom  it  may 
concern,  that  my  friend.  Captain  Peel,  better  known  as 
Dinks,  a  famous  sportsman  and  salmon  fisher,  has  hired 
the  exclusive  fishing  of  one  of  the  finest  salmon  riverain 
Canada  "West,  on  which  a  good  fisherman  may  bag  from 
six  to  twenty  well-fed  fish  per  diem.  The  river  affords 
admirable  fishing  for  six  or  seven  rod,  is  carefully  pre- 
served by  Captain  Peel,  who  keeps  a  regular  game- 
keeper on  it ;  and  is  easily  accessible  from  Quebec. 

Captain  Peel  makes  up  a  party  to  go  thither  and  fish 
annually,  furnishing  all  appliances  and  means  to  boot, 
lodging,  after  forest  fashion,  in .  comfortable  shanties ; 
board  of  tlie  best  that  can  be  obtained,  including  excellent 
port,  sherry,  and  bottled  ale ;  boats,  men,  everything  in 
short,  rods  only  excepted,  that  is  requisite  to  the  genu- 
ine sportsman,  at  the  very  small  price  of  $120  per  month. 

The  scenery  of  the  Lower  St.  Lawi-ence  is  magnificent, 
the  climate  delicious,  the  fishing  the  finest  in  the  world. 
The  expense  is  ridiculously  cheap  as  compared  with  the 
inducements  offered,  nor  can  I  imagine  a  more  delightful 
or  cheaper  mode  of  passing  a  couple  of  summer  months 
than  any  sportsman  can  obtain  by  addressing  Captain 
Peel,  Amherstburg,  Canada  West. 


VII. 
JTTLY. 

Scolopax  Minor. 

THE  BLIND  SI^TIPE ;  MUD  SISTIPE,  &o. 

DURING  THE  SUMMER— CANADA  TO  VIRGINIA. 
DURING  THE  WINTER— SOUTHERN  STATES  TO  MEXICO 


THE  AMERICAN  WOODCOCK. 

Scolojpax  Minor, 

TuE  American  Woodcock,  Scolopax  minor^  or,  as  it 
has  been  subdistinguished  by  some  naturalists,  from  the 
peculiar  form  of  its  short,  rounded  wing,  the  fourth 
and  fifth  quills  of  which  are  the  longest,  Microjptera 
Americana^  is,  as  the  latter  title  indicates,  exclusively 
confined  to  this  hemisphere  and  continent.  It  is  much 
smaller  than  its  European  namesake,  being  very  rarely 
killed  exceeding  eight  or  nine  ounces  in  weight,  and 
sixteen  inches  in  extent  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  expanded 
wings ;  whereas  the  European  cock  averages  full  twelve 
ounces,  being  often  found  up  to  fifteen,  and  measures 
twenty-five  or  twenty-six  inches. 

In  general  appearance  and  color  they  bear  a  consider- 
able afiinity  each  to  the  other ;  the  upper  plumage  of 
both  being  beautifully  variegated,  like  the  finest  tortoise- 
shell,  with  wavy  black  lines  on  a  rich  brown  ground, 
mottled  in  places  with  bright  fawn  color  and  ash-gray , 
but  the  breast  and  belly  of  the  American  bird  are  of  a 
deep  fulvous  yellow,  darkest  on  upper  part  and  fading  to 


188  AMERICAK  GAME. 

a  yellowish  white  at  the  vent,  while  its  European 
congener  has  all  the  lower  parts  of  a  dull  cream  color, 
barred  with  faint  dusky  waved  lines,  like  the  breast 
feathers  of,  some  of  the  falcons. 

It  has  generally  been  believed  that  the  large  cock 
of  the  Eastern  continent  is  never  found  in  America  ;  and 
all  analogy  would  go  to  strengthen  that  belief,  for  neither 
of  the  birds  range  on  their  respective  continents  very  far 
to  the  northward,  whereas  it  is  those  species  only  which 
extend  into  the  Arctic  regions,  and  by  no  means  all  of 
them,  that  are  common  to  the  two  hemispheres.  Some 
circumstances  have,  however,  come  recently  to  my  know- 
ledge which  lead  me  to  doubt  whether  the  large  woodcock 
of  the  Eastern  hemisphere  does  not  occasionally  find  its 
way  to  this  continent,  although  it  is  difiicult  to  conceive 
how  it  should  do  so,  since  it  must  necessarily  wing'  its 
way  across  the  whole  width  of  the  Atlantic,  from  the 
shores  of  Ireland  or  the  Azores,  which  are,  so  far  as  is 
ascertained,  its  extreme  western  limit. 

A  very  good  English  sportsman  resident  in  Philadel- 
phia, who  is  perfectly  familiar  with  both  the  species  and 
their  distinctions,  assures  me  that  during  the  past  winter 
a  friend  brought  for  his  inspection  an  undoubted  English 
woodcock,  which  he  had  purchased  in  the  market ;  it 
weighed  twelve  ounces,  measured  twenty-five  inches 
from  wing  to  wing,  and  had  the  cream-colored  barred 
breast  which  I  have  described.  The  keeper  of  the  stall 
at  which  this  bird  was  purchased  did  not  know  where  it 


THE  AMEEICAN  WOODCOCK.  189 

had  been  killed,  but  aveiTed  that  several  birds  had  pre- 
viously been  in  his  possession,  precisely  similar  to  this 
in  every  respect.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the 
same  gentleman  who  saw  this  bird,  and  unhesitatingly 
pronounced  it  an  European  cock,  was  informed  by  a 
sporting  friend  that  he  had  seen  in*  Susquehanna  county 
a  cock,  which  he  was  satisfied  must  have  measured 
twenty-five  inches  in  extent,  but  which  he  unfortunately 
missed.  There  is  likewise,  at  this  time,  in  the  city  a 
skull  and  bill  of  a  woodcock  of  very  unusual  dimensions, 
of  which  I  am  promised  a  sight,  and  which,  from  the 
description,  I  am  well  nigh  convii^ped  is  of  the  European 
species. 

It  is  possible  that  these  birds  may  have  been  brought 
over  and  kept  in  confinement,  and  Bubsequently  escaped, 
and  so  become  naturalized  in  America;  and  yet  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive  that  persons  should  have  taken  the 
trouble  of  preserving  so  stupid  and  uninteresting  a  bird 
as  the  woodcock  in  a  cage,  unless  for  the  purpose  of 
transporting  them  from  one  country  to  another  in  order 
to  the  introduction  of  new  species. 

This  might  be  done  very  easily  with  regard  to  some 
species,  and  with  undoubted  success  ;  and  it  has  greatly 
surprised  me  that  it  has  never  been  attempted  with 
regard  to  our  American  woodcock,  which  might  unques- 
tionably be  naturalized  in  England  with  the  greatest 
facility;  where  it  would,  I  have  no  doubt,  multiply 
extraordinarily,  and  become  one  of  the  most  numerous 


190  AMERICAN   GAME. 

and  valuable  species  of  game,  as  tlie  mildness  of  tlie 
winters  in  ordinary  seasons  would  permit  the  bird  to 
remain  perennially  in  the  island,  without  resorting  to 
migration  in  order  to  obtain  food. 

The  woodcock  and  snipe  can  both  be  very  readily 
domesticated,  and  can  easily  be  induced  to  feed  on  bread 
and  milk  reduced  to  the  consistency  of  pulp,  of  which 
they  ultimately  become  extremely  fond.  This  is  done  at 
first  by  throwing  a  few  small  red  worms  into  the  bread 
and  milk,  for  which  the  birds  bore  and  bill,  as  if  it 
were  in  their  natural  muddy  soil. 

In  all  countries  in  which  any  species  of  the  woodcock 
is  found,  it  is  a  bird  essenti-ally  of  moderate  climates, 
abhorring  and  shunning  all  extremes  of  temperature, 
whether  of  heat  or  of  cold. 

With  us,  it  winters  in  the  Southern  States  from  Yir- 
ginia,  in  parts  of  which,  I  believe,  it  is  found  at  all  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  through  the  Carolinas,  Georgia  and 
Florida  to  Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  in  the  almost 
impenetrable  cane-brakes  and  deep  morasses  of  which  it 
finds  a  secure  retreat  and  abundance  of  its  favorite  food, 
during  the  inclement  season,  which  binds  up  every 
stream  and  boggy  swamp  of  the  Middle  and  JSTew 
England  States  in  icy  fetters. 

So  soon,  however,  as  the  first  indications  of  spring 
commence,  in  those  regions  of  almost  tropical  heat,  the 
woodcock  wings  its  way  with  the  unerring  certainty  of 
instinct  which  guides  him  back,  as  surely  as  the  magnet 


THE   AMEEICAN   WOODCOCK.  191 

points  to  the  pole,  to  the  very  wood  and  the  very  brake 
of  the  wood  in  which  he  was  hatched,  and  commences 
the  duties  of  nidification. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  woodcock  are  already 
paired  when  they  come  on  to  the  northward ;  if  not, 
they  do  so  without  the  slightest  delay,  for  they  unques- 
tionably begin  to  lay  within  a  week  or  two  after  their 
arrival,  sometimes  even  before  the  snow  has  melted  from 
the  upland.  Sometimes  they  have  been  known  to  lay  so 
early  as  February,  but  March  and  the  beginning  of 
April  are  their  more  general  season.  Their  nest  is  very 
inartificially  made  of  dry  leaves  and  stalks  of  grass. 
The  female  lays  from  four  to  -^ve  eggs,  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  long,  by  an  inch  in  diameter,  of  a  dull  clay 
color,  marked  with  a  few  blotches  of  dark  brown  inter- 
spersed with  splashes  of  faint  purple.  It  is  a  little 
doubtful  whether  the  woodcock  does  or  does  not  rear  a 
second  brood  of  young,  unless  the  first  hatching  is 
destroyed,  as  is  very  frequently  the  case,  by  spring 
floods,  which  are  very  fatal  to  them.  In  this  case,  they 
do  unquestionably  .breed  a  second  time,  for  I  have 
myself  found  the  young  birds,  skulking  about  like  young 
mice  in  the  long  grass,  unable  to  fly,  and  covered  with 
short  blackish  down,  the  most  uncouth  and  comical  look- 
ing little  wretches  imaginable,  during  early  July  shoot- 
ing ;  but  it  is  on  the  whole  my  opinion  that,  at  least  on 
early  seasons,  they  generally  raise  two  broods ;  and  this, 


193  AMEKICAIJ   GAME. 

among  others,  is  one  cause  of  mj  very  strong  desire  to 
Bee  summer  woodcock  shooting  entirely  abolished. 

Unless  this  is  done,  I  am  convinced  beyond  doubt, 
that  before  twenty  years  have  elapsed  the  woodcock  will 
be  as  rare  an  animal  as  a  wolf  between  the  great  lakes 
and  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  so  ruthlessly  are  they  perse- 
cuted and  hunted  down  by  pot-hunters  and  poachers,  for 
the  benefit  of  restaurateurs  and  of  the  lazy,  greedy 
cockneys  who  support  them.  There  is,  however,  I  fear, 
little  hope  of  any  legislative  enactment  toward  this 
highly  desirable  end ;  for  too  many  even  of  those  who 
call  themselves,  and  who  ought  to  be,  true  sportsmen, 
are  selfish  and  obstinate  on  this  point,  and  the  name  of 
the  pot-hunters  is  veritably  legion.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be 
doubted  whether,  even  if  such  a  statute  were  added  to 
our  game-laws,  it  could  be  enforced ;  so  vehemently 
opposed  do  all  the  rural  classes,  who  ought  to  be  the 
best  friends  of  the  game,  show  themselves  on  all  occa- 
sions to  any  attempt  toward  preserving  them,  partly 
jfrom  a  mistaken  idea  that  game-laws  are  of  feudal 
origin  and  of  aristocratic  tendency ;  and  so  averse  are 
they  to  enforce  the  penalties  of  the  law  on  ofi'enders, 
from  a  servile  apprehension  of  giving  offense  to  their 
neighbors. 

At  present,  in  almost  all  the  States  of  which  the  wood- 
cock is  a  summer  visitant,  either  by  law  or  by  prescrip- 
tion, July  is  the  month  appropriated  to  the  commence- 
ment of  their  slaughter ;  in  New  York  the  first  is  the 


THE  AMEEICAN  WOODCOCK.  193 

day,  in  'New  Jersey  tlie  fiftli,  and  in  all  the  Middle 
States,  with  the  single  exception  of  Delaware,  where  it 
is  deferred  until  August,  some  day  of  the  same  month  is 
fixed  as  the  termination  of  close  time.  Even  in  Dela- 
ware the  exception  is  rendered  nugatory,  by  a  provision 
permitting  every  person  to  shoot  on  his  own  grounds, 
whether  in  or  out  of  season,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  birds  are  all  killed  off  early  in  June. 

It  may  now  be  set  down  almost  as  a  rule,  that  in  all 
the  Atlantic  seaboard  counties,  and,  indeed,  every  where 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  large  cities  and  great  thorough- 
fares, the  whole  of  the  summer  hatching  is  killed  off 
before  the  end  of  July,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
scattered  stragglers,  which  have  escaped  pursuit  in  some 
impenetrable  brake  or  oozy  quagmire  which  defies  the 
foot  of  the  sportsman ;  that  few  survive  to  moult,  and 
that  the  diminished  numbers,  which  we  now  find  on  our 
autumn  shooting-grounds,  are  supplied  exclusively  by 
the  northern  and  Canadian  broods,  which  keep  success- 
ively flying  before  the  advancing  cold  of  winter,  and 
sojourning  among  us  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  period,  ere 
they  wing  their  way  to  the  rice-fields  of  the  Savannah, 
or  the  cane-brakes  of  the  Mississippi. 

If  my  method  could  be  generally  adopted,  of  letting 
the  fifteenth  day  of  September,  after  the  moulting  season 
is  passed,  and  when  the  birds  are  beginning  again  to 
congregate  on  their  favorite  feeding-grounds,  be  the 
commencement  of  every  sort  of  upland  shooting,  with- 
9 


1-94  AMERICAN   GAME. 

out  any  exception,  the  sport  would  be  enormous ;  the 
birds  at  that  season  are  in  full  vigor,  in  complete  plu- 
mage, in  the  perfection  of  condition  for  the  table,  and 
are  so  strong  on  the  wing,  so  active  and  so  swift,  that  no 
one  could  for  a  moment  imagine  them  to  be  the  same 
with  the  miserable,  puny,  half-fledged  younglings,  which 
any  bungling  boy  can  butcher  as  he  pleases,  with  the 
most  miserable  apparatus,  and  without  almost  as  well  as 
with  a  dog,  during  the  dog-days  of  July. 

Tlie  weatlier  is,  moreover,  cool  and  pleasant,  and  in 
every  way  well-suited  to  the  sport  at  this  season  ;  dogs 
have  a  chance  to  do  their  work  handsomely  and  well, 
and  the  sportsman  can  do  his  work,  too,  as  he  ought  to 
do  it,  like  a  man,  walking  at  his  proper  rate,  unmolested 
by  mosquitoes,  and  without  feeling  the  salt  perspiration 
streaming  into  his  eyes,  until  he  can  hardly  brook  the 
pain. 

But  no  such  hope  existing  as  that  state  legislatures, 
dependent,  not  on  rational  but  on  brute  opinion,  should 
condescend  to  hear  or  listen  to  common  sense,  on 
matters  such  as  game  laws,  are  we,  or  are  we  not,  to 
abandon  our  plan,  to  sacrifice  our  knowledge  and 
enlightened  views  on  this  subject  to  obstinate  ignorance  ; 
or  shall  we  not  take  the  better  part,  and  decide,  accord- 
ing to  Minerva's  lesson  in  Tennyson's  magnificent 
-/Enone, 

.    .     .  For  that  right  is  right  to  follow  right 
Where  wisdom  is  the  scorn  of  consequence. 


THE   AMEKICAN   WOODCOCK.  195 

We  shall  resist  and  persist ;  at  least  I  shall — ^I,  Frank 
Forester,  who  never  in  my  life  have  killed  a  bird  out  of 
season  intentionally,  and  who  never  will — who  am  com- 
pelled by  sham  sportsmen,  cockney  and  pot-gunners  to 
shoot  woodcock  in  July ;  who  have  been  invited,  times 
out  and  over  again,  to  shoot  cock  on  men^s  own  ground^ 
and  therefore  within  the  letter  of  the  law,  in  ITew  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  before  the 
season  ;  who  have  ever  refused  to  take  the  advantages, 
which  every  one  takes  over  me  ;  and  who  still  intend  to 
persist,  though  not  to  hope,  that  there  may  be  sense 
enough,  if  not  integrity,  among  the  legislatures  of  the 
free  states,  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  all  game  within 
their  several  jurisdictions. 

As  the  thing  stands — and  by  the  thing  I  mean  the  law 
— woodcock  are  to  be  shot  on  or  about  the  first  day  of 
July ;  and  if,  dear  reader,  you  try  to  shoot  any  where 
within  fifty  miles  of  New  York,  or  twenty-five  of  Phila- 
delphia, much  later  than  the  tenth  of  June,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  you  will  find  wonderfully  little  sport ; 
before  the  season,  do  not  fire  a  shot,  if  you  will  take  my 
advice  ;  if  poachers  will  violate  the  law,  and  the  law  will 
not  enforce  itself  against  poachers,  abstain  from  becom- 
ing a  poacher  yourself,  and  do  not  shoot  before  the 
season  fairly  commences. 

At  tliis  period  of  the  year  woodcock  are  almost  inva- 
riably found  in  the  lowlands  ;  sometimes,  as,. for  instance, 
at  Salem,  in  New  Jersey,  and  many  other  similar  locali- 


196  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

ties  along  the  low  and  level  shores  of  the  Delaware,  in 
the  wide,  open  meadows,  >vhere  there  is  not  a  bush  or 
brake  to  be  seen  for  miles ;  but  more  generally  in  low, 
swampy  woods,  particularly  in  maple  woods,  which  have 
an  undergrowth  of  alder ;  along  the  margin  of-  oozy 
streamlets,  creeping  through  moist  meadows,  among 
willow  thickets  ;  and  in  wet  pastures  trampled  by  cattle, 
and  set  here  and  there  with  little  brakes,  which  afford 
them  shade  and  shelter  during  the  heat  of  the  day. 

Of  the  latter  description  is  the  ground,  once  so  famous 
for  its  summer  cock-shooting,  known  as  "  the  drowned 
lands,"  in  Orange  County,  ISTew  York,  extending  for 
miles  and  miles  along  the  margins  of  the  Wallkill  and 
its  tributaries,  the  Black  Creek,  the  Quaker  Creek,  and 
the  beautiful  Wawayanda.  Many  a  day  of  glorious 
sport  have  I  had  on  those  sweet  level  meadows,  enjoyed 
with  friends  long  since  dispersed  and  scattered,  some 
dead,,  untimely,  some  in  far  distant  lands,  some  false- 
and  some  forgetful,  and  thou,  true-hearted,  honest,  merry- 
brave,  Tom  Draw ;  thou  whilom  king  of  hosts  and 
emperor  of  sportsmen,  thou,  saddest  fate  of  all,  smitten, 
or  ere  thy  prime  was  passed  away,  by  the  most  fearful 
visitation  that  awaits  mankind — the  awful  doom  of 
blindness !  never  again  shall  I  draw  trigger  on  those 
once  .loved  levels — the  railroad  now  thunders  and 
whistles  close  beside  them,  and  every  man  and  boy  and 
fool,  now  sports  his  fowling-piece  ;  and  not  a  woodcock 
on  the  meadows  but,  after  running  the  gauntlet  of  a 


THE  AlvrEEICAN   WOODCOCK.  "       19Y 

hundred  sliots,  a  liiindred  volleys,  is  consigned  to  the 
care  of  some  conductor,  by  him  to  be  delivered  to  Del- 
monico  or  Florence,  for  the  benefit  of  fat,  greasy 
merchant-princes ;  and  if  it  were  not  so,  if  birds, 
swarmed  as  of  yore  in  every  reedy  slank,  by  every  alder- 
brake,  in  every  willow  tuft,  the  ground  is  haimted  by 
too  many  recollections,  rife  with  too  many  thick-suc- 
ceeding memories  to  render  it  a  fitting  place,  to  me  at 
least,  for  pleasurable  or  gay  pursuits. 

But,  as  I  have  said  before,  summer  cock-shooting  on 
the  Drowned  Lands  of  Orange  County  is  among  the 
things  that  have  been — one  of  the  stars  that  have  set, 
never  to  be  relumed,  in  the  nineteenth  century  ;  and  the 
glory  of  "  the  Warwick  Woodlands"  has  departed. 

In  Connecticut,  in  some  parts,  there  is  very  good 
summer  cock-shooting  yet ;  and  also  in  many  places  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  rich  alluvial 
levels  around  the  Delaware,  the  Schuylkill,  and  their 
tributary  rivers  ;  but  the  sportsman,  who  really  thirsts  for 
fine  shooting — shooting  such  as  it  does  the  heart  good  to 
hear  of — ^must  mount  the  iron-horse,  whose  breath  is  the 
hissing  steam,  and  away,  fleeter  even  than  the  wings  of 
the  morning,  for  Michigan  and  Illinois  and  Indiana,  for 
the  willow-brakes  of  Alganac,  and  the  rice-marshes  ot 
Lake  St.  Clair ;  and  there  he  may  shoot  cock  till  his 
gun-barrels  are  red-hot,  and  his  heart  is  satiate  of  bird- 
slaughter. 

It  is  usual  at  this  season  to  shoot  cock  over  pointers  or 


198  AMERICAN   GAME. 

setters,  according  to  individual  preference  of  tliis  or  that 
race  of  dogs ;  for  myself,  of  the  two,  I  prefer  the  setter, 
as  in  cock-shooting  there  is  always  abundance  of  water 
to  be  had,  and  this  rough-coated,  high-strung  dog  can 
face  brakes  and  penetrate  coverts,  which  play  the 
mischief  with  the  smooth  satiny  skin  of  the  high  blooded 
pointer. 

In  truth,  however,  neither  of  these,  but  the  short- 
legged,  bony,  red  and  white  cocking-spaniel,  is  the  true 
dog  over  which  to  shoot  summer  woodcock  ;  and  no  one, 
I  will  answer  for  it,  who  has  ever  hunted  a  good  cry  of 
these,  will  ever  again  resort  either  to  setter  or  pointer 
for  this,  to  them,  inappropriate  service. 

The  true  place  for  these  dogs  is  the  open  plain,  the 
golden  stubble,  the  wide-stretching  prairie,  the  highland 
moor,  where  they  can  find  full  scope  for  their  heady 
courage,  their  wonderful  fleetness,  their  unwearied 
industry,  and  display  their  miracles  of  staunchness, 
steadiness,  and  nose. 

In  order  to  hunt  these  dogs  on  cock,  you  must  unteach 
them  some  of  their  noblest  faculties,  you  must  tame 
down  their  spirits,  shackle  their  fiery  speed,  reduce 
them,  in  fact,  to-  the  functions  of  the  spaniel,  which  is 
much  what  it  would  be  to  train  a  battle  charger  to  bear 
a  pack-saddle,  or  manage  an  Eclipse  into  a  lady's 
ambling  palfrey. 

The  cocking-spaniel,  on  the  contrary,  is  here  in  his 
very  vocation.     Ever  industrious,  ever  busy,  never  rang- 


THE   AMERICAN   WOODCOCK.  199 

ing  above  twenty  paces  from  his  master,  bustling  round 
every  stump,  prying  into  every  fern-bush,  worming  his 
long,  stout  body,  propped  on  its  short,  bony  legs,  into 
the  densest  and  most  matted  cover,  no  cock  can  escape 
him. 

See  !  one  of  them  has  struck  a  trail ;  how  he  flourishes 
his  stump  of  a  tail.  Now  he  snuffs  the  tainted  ground  ; 
what  a  rapture  fills  his  dark,  expressive  eye.  ISTow  he  is 
certain ;  he  pauses  for  a  moment,  looks  back  to  see  if 
his  master  is  at  hand ;  "  Yaff !  yaff !"  the  brakes  ring 
with  his  merry  clamor,  his  comrade  rushes  to  his  aid 
like  lightning,  yet  pauses  ever,  obedient  to  the  whistle, 
nor  presses  the  game  too  rashly,  so  that  it  rise  out  of 
distance.  Up  steps  the  master,  with  his  thumb  upon  the 
dexter  hammer,  and  his  fore-finger  on  the  trigger-guard. 
ITow  they  are  close  upon  the  quarry;  "yaff!  yaff! 
yaff !"  Flip  fiap  !  up  springs  the  cock,  with  a  shrill 
whistle,  on  a  soaring  wing.  Flip  flap  !  again — there  are 
a  couple.  Deliberately  prompt,  up  goes  the  fatal  tube — 
even  as  the  butt  presses  the  shoulder,  trigger  is  drawn 
after  trigger.  Bang  1  bang !  the  eye  of  faith  and  the 
finger  of  instinct  have  done  their  work,  duly,  truly. 
The  thud  of  one  bird,  as  he  strikes  the  moist  soil,  tells 
that  he  has  fallen  ;  the  long  stream  of  feathers  floating 
in  the  still  air  through  yonder  open  glade,  announces 
the  fate  of  the  second ;  and,  before  the  butt  of  the  gun, 
dropped  to  load,  has  touched  the  ground,  without  a  word 
or  question,  down  charged  at  the  report,  the  busy  little 


200  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

babblers  are  couched  silent  in  tlie  soft,  succulent  young 
grass.  Loaded  once  more,  "  Hie  !  fetch  !''  and  what  a 
race  of  emulation — 'mouthing  their  birds  gehtly,  yet 
rapturously,  to  inhale  best  the  delicate  aroma,  not  biting 
them,  each  cocker  has  brought  in  his  bird,  and  they  and 
you,  gentle  reader,  if  you  be  the  happy  sportsman  who 
possesses  such  a  brace  of  beauties,  are  rewarded  ade- 
quately and  enough. 

For  the  rest,  a  short,  wide-bored,  double-barrel,  an 
ounce  of  'No.  8  shot,  and  an  equal  measure  of  Brough's 
diamond-grain,  will  do  the  business  of  friend  nhicrqptera, 
as  effectually,  at  this  season,  as  a  huge,  long,  old-fashion- 
ed nine-pounder,  with  its  two  ounce  charge  ;  and  it  will 
give  you  this  advantage,  that  it  shall  weigh  less  by  three 
pounds,  and  enable  you  to  dispense  with  a  superfluous 
weight  of  shot,  which  on  a  hot  July  day,  especially  if 
you  be  at  all  inclined  to  what  our  friend  Willis  calls 
jpinguititde,  will  of  a  necessity  produce  much  exudation, 
and  some  lassitude. 


VIII. 
AUGUST. 


Cljt  Mm)!  ^ttdi;  ax  3nmmtx  §ul, 

Anas^  sivQ  Dendronessa  Sponaa, 
THE  UNITED  STATES ;   CANADA  TO  MEXICO. 


^merirait  ^wr. 


Cervus  Virginianvs. 
AMERICAN   CONTINENT— NEW  BRUNSWICK  TO  MEXICO. 


THE  SUMMER  DUCK,  OR  WOOD  DUCK. 

Anas  Sponsa. 

This  lovely  species  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  whole 
Duck  tribe,  is  peculiar  to  the  continent  and  isles  of 
America,  being  familiarly  known  through  almost  every 
portion  of  the  United  States,  and  according  to  Wilson, 
common  in  Mexico  and  the  West  India  Islands.  In 
Florida  it  is  very  abundant,  as  it  is,  more  or  less,  on  all 
the  fresh  waters  so  far  north  as  the  interior  of  the  State 
of  New  York ;  in  the  colder  regions,  to  the  north-east- 
ward, though  not  unknown,  it  is  of  less  frequent  occur- 
rence than  in  more  genial  climates. 

Its  more  correct  title,  "  Summer  Duck,"  is  referable 
to  the  fact,  that  it  is  not,  like  most  of  the  Anatides  and 
FuUgulcB^  fresh  water  and  sea  ducks,  more  or  less  a  bird 
of  passage,  retiring  to  the  fastnesses  of  the  extreme  north, 
for  the  purposes  of  nidification,  and  rearing  its  young  ; 
but,  wherever  it  abounds,  is  a  permanent  citizen  of  the 
land,  raising  its  family  in  the  very  place  where  itself  was 
born,  and. not  generally,  if  undisturbed,  moving  very  far 


204:  AMEKICAlf   GAME. 

from  its  native  liaimts.  I  think,  however,  that  in  the 
United  States  it  is  perhaps  better  known  under  its  other 
appellation  of  Wood  Duck  ;  and  I  am  not  prepared  to 
say,  although  the  former  is  the  specific  name  adopted  by 
all  naturalists,  that  the  latter  is  not  the  better,  as  the 
more  distinctive  title,  and  applying  to  a  more  remarka- 
ble peculiarity  of  the  bird.  For  it,  alone,  so  far  as  I 
know,  of  the  Duck  family,  is  in  the  habit  of  perching 
and  roosting  on  the  upper  branches  of  tall  trees,  near 
water-courses,  and  of  making  its  nest  in  the  holes  and 
hollows  of  old  trunks,  overhanging  sequestered  streams . 
or  woodland  pools,  often  at  a  great  height  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water. 

The  Summer  Duck  is  the  most  gayly  attired  of  the 
whole  family ;  it  has,  moreover,  a  fcu'm  of  very  unusual 
elegance,  as  compared  with  other  'ducks  ;  and  a  facility 
of  flight,  and  a  command  of  itself  on  the  wing,  most  un- 
like to  the  ponderous,  angular  flapping  of  the  rest  of  its 
tribe,  wheeling  with  a  rapidity  and  power  of  pinion,  ap- 
proaching in  some  degree  to  that  of  the  swallow,  in  and 
out  among  the  branches  of  the  gnarled  and  tortuous  pin- 
oaks,  whose  shelter  it  especially  affects. " 

From  two  very  fine  specimens,  male  and  female,  now 
before  me,  I  take  the  following  description ; 

Drake,  in  full  summer  plumage.  Length  from  tip  of 
bill  to  tip  of  tail,  21  inches.  Length  of  wing,  9  inches. 
Bill,  1  1-5  inch.  Tarsus,  IJ.  Middle  toe,  2  inches.  Body 
long,  delicately  shaped,  rounded.     Head  small,  finely 


TffiE  SUMMER  DUCK.  205 

crested  ;  neck  rather  long  and  slender.  Eye  large,  with 
golden-yellow  irides.  Legs  and  feet  orange-yellow,  webs 
dusky,  claws  black.  Plumage  soft,  compressed,  blended. 
Bill  orange-red  at  the  base,  yellow  on  the  sides,  with  a 
black  spot  above  the  nostrils,  extending  nearly  to  the 
tip  ;  nail  recurved,  black. 

The  colors  are  most  vivid.  The  crown  of  the  head, 
cheeks,  side  of  the  upper  neck  and  crest  changeable,  va- 
rying in  different  lights,  from  bottle-green,  through  all 
hues  of  dark  blue,  bright  azure,  purple,  with  ruby  and 
amethyst  reflections,  to  jet  black.  From  the  upper  cor- 
ner of  the  upper  mandible  a  narrow  snow-white  streak 
above  the  ey-e  runs  back,  expanding  somewhat,  into  the 
upper  crest.  A  broader  streak  of  the  same  extends 
backward  below  the  eye,  and  forms  several  bright  streaks 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  crest.  Chin  and  fore  throat 
snow-white,  with  a  sort  of  double  gorget,  the  upper  ex- 
tending upward  a  little  posterior  to  the  eye,  and  nearly 
reaching  it,  the  lower  almost  encircling  the  neck  at  its 
narrowest  part.  The  lower  neck  and  upper  breast  are 
of  the  richest  vinous  red,  interspersed  in  front  with  small 
arrow-headed  spots  of  pure  white.  Lower  breast  white, 
spotted  with  paler  vinous  red  ;  belly  pure  white.  Scap- 
ulars, and  lower  hind  neck,  reddish  brown,  with  green 
reflections.  Back,  tail-coverts  and  tail  black,  splendidly 
glossed  with  metallic  lustre  of  rich  blue-green  and  pur- 
ple. Wing-coverts  and  primaries  brown,  glossed  with 
blue  and  green,  outer  webs  of  the  primaries  silvery 


206  ^  AMERICAN   GAME. 

white ;  secondaries  glossy  blue-black.  A  broad  crescent- 
shaped  band  of  pure  white,  in  front  of  the  wings,  at  the 
edge  of  the  red  breast-feathers,  and  behind  this  a 
broader  margin  of  jet  black.  The  sides  of  the  body 
rich  greenish  yellow,  most  delicately  penciled  with  nar- 
row close  waved  lines  of  gray.  On  the  flanks  six  dis- 
tinct semi-lunated  bands  of  white,  anteriorly  bordered 
with  broad  black  origins,  and  tipped  with  black.  The 
vent  tawny  white,  the  rump  and  under  tail-coverts  dark 
reddish  purj^le. 

The  duck  is  smaller  and  duller  in  her  general  coloring, 
but  still  bears  sufficient  resemblance  to  the  splendid 
drake  to  cause  her  at  once  to  be  recognized,  by  any 
moderately  observant  eye,  as  his  mate. 

Her  bill  is  blackish  brown,  the  irides  of  her  eyes  hazel 
brown,  her  feet  dull  dusky  green.  Crown  of  her  head 
and  hind  neck  dusky,  faintly  glossed  with  green,  and 
with  the  rudiments  of  a  crest ;  cheeks  dusky  brown.  A 
white  circle  round  the  eye  and  longitudinal  spot  behind 
it.  Chin  and  throat  dingy  white.  Shoulders,  back, 
scapulars,  ,wing-coverts,  rumi)  and  tail  brown,  more  or 
less  glossed  with  green,  pui'ple  and  dark  crimson.  Pri- 
maries black,  with  reflections  of  deep  cerulean  blue  and 
violet;  outer  webs  silvery  white.  Secondaries  violet- 
blue  and  deep  green,  w:ith  black  edges  and  a  broad  white 
margin,  forming  the  speculum  or  beauty  spot.  Ui3per 
fore  neck,  breast,  sides  and  flanks  deep  chestnut-brown, 
spotted  in  irregular  lines  with  oval  marks  of  faint  tawny 


THE  SUMMER  DUCK.  207 

yellow;  belly,  vent  and  under  tail-coverts  white,  flanks 
and  thighs  dull  brown. 

The  young  males  of  the  first  season  are  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  ducks. 

The  Summer  Duck  breeds,  in  Kew  York  and  IN'ew 
Jersey,  according  to  the  season,  from  early  in  April  until 
late  in  May  ;  in  July  the  young  birds  are  not  much  infe- 
rior in  size  to  the  parents,  though  not  yet  very  strong  on 
the  wing.  I  well  remember  on  one  occasion,  during  the 
second  week  of  that  month,  in  the  year  1836,  while  out 
woodcock  shooting  near  Warwick,  in  Orange  county, 
ISTew  York,  with  a  steady  brace  of  setters,  how  some 
mowers  who  were  at  work  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful 
Wawayanda,  hailed  me,  and,  pointing  to  a  patch  of  per- 
haps two  acres  of  coarse,  rushy  grass,  told  me  that  six 
ducks  had  just  gone  down  there.  I  called  my  dogs  to 
heel,  and  walked  very  gingerly  through  the  meadow, 
with  finger  on  the  trigger,  expecting  the  birds  to  rise 
very  wild  ;  but  to  my  great  surprise  reached  the  end  of 
the  grass,  on  the  rivulet's  njargin,  without  moving  any 
thing. 

The  nien  still  persisted  that  the  birds  were  there  ;  and 
so  they  were,  sure  enough ;  for  on  bidding  my  setters 
hold  up,  I  soon  got  six  dead  points  in  the  grass,  and  not 
without  some  trouble  kicked  up  the  birds,  so  hard  did 
they  lay.  It  was  a  calm,  bright  summer's  day,  not  a 
duck  rose  above  ten  feet  from  me,  and  I  bagged  them  all. 
They  proved  to  be  the  old  duck  and  five  young  birds  of 


208  MIERIOAIT   GAME. 

that  season,  but  in  size  the  latter  were  quite  equal  to  the 
mother  bird. 

I  consider  the  Summer  Duck  at  all  times  rather  a  less 
shy  bird  than  its  congeners,  though  it  may  that  it  is  ow- 
ing to  the  woody  covert  which,  unlike  others  of  its  tribe, 
it  delights  to  frequent ;  and  which  perhaps  acts  in  some 
degree  as  a  screen  to  its  pursuer ;  but  except  on  one 
other  occasion  I  never  saw  any  thing  like  the  tameness 
of  that  brood. 

The  other  instance  occurred  nearly  in  the  same  place, 
and  in  the  same  month,  I  think,  of  the  ensuing  year.  I 
was  again  out'  summer  cock  shooting,  and  was  crossing  a 
small,  sluggish  brook,  of  some  twelve  or  fourteen  feet 
over,  with  my  gun  under  my  arm,  on  a  pile  of  old  rails, 
which  had  been  thrown  into  the  channel  by  the  hay^ 
makers,  to  make  an  extemporaneous  bridge  for  the  hay 
teams ;  when  on  a  sudden,  to  my  very  great  wonder- 
ment, and  I  must  admit  to  my  very  considerable  fluster- 
ation  likewise,  almost  to  the  point  of  tumbling  me  into 
the  mud,  out  got  a  couple  of  Wood  Ducks  from  the  rails, 
literally  under  my  feet,  with  a  prodigious  bustle  of  wings 
and  quacking.  If  I  had  not  so  nearly  tumbled  into  the 
stream,  ten  to  one  I  should  have  shot  too  quickly  and 
missed  them  both;  but  the  little  effort  to  recover  my 
footing  gave  me  time  to  get  cool  again,  and  I  bagged 
them  both.  One  was  again  the  old  duck,  the  other  a 
young  drake  of  that  season. 

In  the  spring,  the  old  duck  selects  her  place  in  some 


THE  STJMMER  DUCK.  209 

snug,  nnsuspicious  looking  hole  in  some  old  tree  near 
the  water  edge,  where,  if  unmolested,  she  will  breed 
many  years  in  succession,  carrying  down  her  young 
when  ready  to  fly,  in  her  bill,  and  placing  them  in  the 
water.  The  drake  is  very  attentive  to  the  female  while 
she  is  laying,  and  yet  more  so  while  she  is  engaged  in 
the  duties  of  incubation ;  constantly  wheeling  about  on 
the  wing  among  the  branches,  near  the  nest  on  which 
she  is  sitting,  and  greeting  her  with  a  little  undertoned 
murmur  of  affection,  or  perching  on  a  bough  of  the  same 
tree,  as  if  to  keep  watch  over  her. 

The  following  account  of  their  habits  is  so  true,  and 
the  anecdote  illustrating  them  so  pretty  and  pleasing, 
that  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  it,  for  the  benefit  of 
those  of  my  readers  who  may  not  be  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  cultivated  a  familiar  friendship  with  the  pages  of 
that  eloquent  pioneer  of  the  natural  history  of  the  woods 
and  wilds  and  waters  of  America,  the  Scottish  Wilson, 
who  has  done  more  for  that  science  than  any  dead  or  liv- 
ing man,  with  the  sole  exception  of  his  immortal  suc- 
cessor, the  great  and  good  Audubon ;  and  whose  works 
will  stand  side  by  side  with  his,  so  long  as  truthfulness 
of  details,  correctness  of  classification,  eloquence  of 
style,  and  a  pure  taste  and  love  for  rural  sounds  and 
sights  shall  command  a  willing  audience.  Speaking  of 
this  bird  he  says — 

"It  is  familiarly  known  in  every  quarter  of  the  United 
States,  from  Florida  to  Lake  Ontario,  in  the  neighbor- 


210  AMERICAN    GAME. 

hood  of  wliicli  latter  place  I  have  myself  met  with  it  in 
October.  It  rarely  visits  the  sea-shore,  or  salt  marshes, 
its  favorite  haunts  being  the  solitary,  deep,  and  mnddy 
creeks,  ponds  and  mill-dams  of  the  interior,  making  its 
nest  frequently  in  old  hollow  trees  that  overhang  the 
water. 

"  The  Summer  Duck  is  equally  well  known  in  Mexico 
and  many  of  the  West  India  Islands.  During  the  whole 
of  our  winters  they  are  occasionally  seen  in  the  states 
south  of  the  Potomac.  On  the  lOtli  of  January  I  met 
with  two  on  a  creek  near  Petersburgh,  in  Virginia.  In 
the  more  northern  districts,  however,  they  are  migratory. 
In  Pennsylvania  the  female  usually  begins  to  lay  late  in 
April,  or  early  in  May.  Instances  have  been  known 
where  the  nest  was  constructed  of  a  few  sticks  laid  in  a 
fork  of  the  branches ;  usually,  however,  the  inside  of  a 
hollow  tree  is  selected  for  this  purpose.  On  the  18th  of 
May  I  visited  a  tree  containing  the  nest  of  a  Summer 
Duck,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tuckahoe  Kiver,  'New  Jersey. 
It  was  an  old,  grotesque  white-oak,  whose  top  had  been 
torn  off  by  a  storm.  It  stood  on  the  declivity  of  the 
bank,  about  twenty  yards  from  the  water.  In  this  hol- 
low and  broken  top,  and  about  six  feet  down,  on  the  soft, 
decayed  wood,  lay  thirteen  eggs,  snugly  covered  with 
down,  doubtless  taken  from  the  breast  of  the  bird. 
These  eggs  were  of  an  exact  oval  shape,  less  than  those 
of  a  hen,  the  surface  exceedingly  fine  grained,  and  of 
the  highest  polish,  and  slightly  yellowish,  greatly  resem- 


THE   SUMMER   DUCK.  211 

bling  old  polished  ivorj.  The  egg  measured  two  inches 
and  an  eighth  by  one  inch  and  a  half.  On  breaking  one 
of  them,  the  young  bird  was  found  to  be  nearly  hatched, 
but  dead,  as  neither  of  the  parents  had  been  observed 
about  the  tree  during  the  three  or  four  days  preceding, 
and  were  conjectured  to  have  been  shot. 

"  This  tree  had  been  occupied,  probably,  by  the  same 
pair,  for  four  successive  years,  in  breeding  time ;  the 
person  who  gave  me  the  information,  and  whose  house 
was  within  twenty  or  thirty  yards  of  the  tree,  said  that 
he  had  seen  the  female,  the  spring  preceding,  carry  down 
thirteen  young,  one  by  one,  in  less  than  ten  minutes. 
She  caught  them  in  her  bill  by  the  wing  or  back  of  the 
neck,  and  landed  them  safely  at  the  foot  of  the  tree, 
whence  she  afterward  led  them  to  the  water.  Under 
this  same  tree,  at  the  time  I  visited  it,  a  large  sloop  lay 
on  the  stocks,  nearly  finished ;  the  deck  was  not  more 
than  twelve  feet  distant  from  the  nest,  yet  notwithstand- 
ing the  presence  and  noise  of  the  workmen,  the  ducks 
would  not  abandon  their  old  breeding  place,  but  contin- 
ued to  pass  out  and  in,  as  if  no  person  had  been  near. 
The  male  usually  perched  on  an  adjoining  limb,  and 
kept  watch  while  the  female  was  laying,  and  also  often 
while  she  was  sitting.  A  tame  goose  had  chosen  a  hol- 
low space  at  the  root  of  the  same  tree,  to  lay  and  hatch 
her  young  in. 

"The  Summer  Duck  seldom  flies  in  flocks  of  more 
than  three  or  four  individjials  together,  and  most  com- 


212  AMERICAN  GAME. 

monly  in  pairs,  or  singly.  The  common  note  of  the 
drake  h  peet^  peet  i  but  when,  standing  sentinel,  he  sees 
danger,  he  makes  a  noise  not  unlike  the  crowing  of  a 
young  cock,  oe  eek  !  oe  eek !  Their  food  consists  princi- 
pally of  acorns,  seeds  of  the  wild  oats,  and  insects." 

Mr.  Wilson  states,  as  his  opinion,  that  the  flesh  of  this 
lovely  little  duck  is  inferior  in  excellence  to  that  of  the 
blue-winged  teal.  But  therein  I  can  by  no  means  coin- 
cide with  him,  as  I  consider  it,  in  the  Atlantic  states, 
inferior  to  no  duck  except  the  canvas-back,  which  is  2A- 
mitted  facile  jprinceps  of  all  the  duck  tribe.  The  Sum- 
mer Duck  is  in  these  districts  probably  the  most  grami- 
nivorous and  granivorous  of  the  family,  not  affecting  fish, 
tadpoles,  frogs  or  field-mice,  all  of  which  are  swallowed 
with  great  alacrity  and  rejoicing  by  the  mallards,  pin- 
tails, and  other  haunters  of  fresh  water  streams  and 
lakes. 

On  the  great  lakes  of  the  west  and  north,  where  all 
the  duck  tribe  feed  to  fattening  on  the  wild  rice  and  wild 
celery,  zizania  aqioatica  and  lalisneria  Americana^  no 
one  species  is  better  than  another,  all  being  admirable  ; 
but  in  the  course  of  an  autumn  spent  on  the  northern 
shores  of  Lake  Huron  and  the  rivers  debouching  into  it, 
and  thence  north-westward  to  Lake  Superior,  I  do  not 
remember  seeing  any  specimens  of  this  beautiful  bird, 
though  I  feel  sure  that  it  cannot  but  exist  in  those  waters, 
which  are  in  all  respects  so  congenial  to  its  habits. 

Another  peculiarity  of  this  species,  which  I  have 


THE  SUMMER  DUCK.  213 

repeatedly  noticed,  when  it  has  not  been  disturbed  by 
any  sudden  noise  or  the  pursuit  of  dogs,  is  thus  neatly 
touched  upon  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Giraud,  Jr.,  the  enthusiastic 
and  accomplished  ornithologist  of  Long  Island,  whose 
unpretending  little  volume  should  be  the  text  book  of 
every  sportsman  in  the  land  who  has  a  taste  for  any 
thing  beyond  mere  wanton  slaughter. 

"  Often  when  following  those  beautiful  and  rapid 
streams  that  greatly  embellish  our  country,  in  pursuit  of 
the  angler's  beau  ideal  of  sport,  have  I  met  with  this 
gayly-attired  duck.  As  if  proud  of  its  unrivalled  beauty, 
it  w^ould  slowly  rise  and  perform  a  circuit  in  the  air, 
seemingly  to  give  the  admiring  beholder  an  opportunity 
of  witnessing  the  gem  of  its  tribe." 

The  Summer  Duck  is  very  easily  domesticated,  if  the 
eggs  be  taken  from  the  nest  and  hatched  under  a  hen, 
and  the  young  birds  become  perfectly  tame,  coming  up 
to  the  house  or  the  barn-yard  to  be  fed,  with  even  more 
regularity  than  the  common  domestic  duck ;  nay,  even 
the  old  birds,  if  taken  by  the  net  and  wing-tipped,  will 
soon  become  gentle  and  lose  their  natural  shyness. 

In  the  summej-  of  1843  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a 
large  flock  of  these  lovely  wild  fowl  perfectly  gentle, 
answering  the  call  of  their  owner  by  their  peculiar  mur- 
mur of  pleasure,  and  coming,  as  fast  as  they  could  swim 
or  run,  to  be  fed  by  his  hand. 

This  was  at  the  beautiful  place  of  the  Hon.  Mahlon 
Dickinson,  formerly  a  member  of  General  Jackson's  cabi- 


214  A3iIEE.ICAN   GAME. 

net,  not  far  from  Morristown,  in  ISTew  Jersey,  wliicli  is  sin- 
gularly adapted  for  the  rearing  and  domesticating  these 
ferm  natwa^  since  it  has,  immediately  adjoining  the  trim 
and  regular  gardens,  a  long  and  large  tract  of  beautiful 
■wild  shrubbery,  full  of  rare  evergreens,  and  interspersed 
with  bright,  cool  springs  and  streamlets  feeding  many 
ponds  and  reservoirs,  where  they  can  feed,  and  sport,  and 
breed,  as  undisturbed  as  in  the  actual  wilderness ;  while 
the  adjacent  country  being  all  tame  and  highly  culti- 
vated, they  have  no  inducement  to  stray  from  their 
abode. 

Beside  Summer  Ducks,  Mr.  Dickinson  had  at  the 
period  of  my  visit.  Dusky  Ducks,  better  known  as  Black 
Ducks,  Green-winged  Teal,  Golden-eyes,  and,  I  think, 
Widgeon;  but  the  Summer  Ducks  were  by  far  the 
tamest,  as  the  Dusky  Ducks  were  the  wildest  of  the  com- 
pany. I  should  long  ago  have  attempted  to  naturalize 
them  on  my  own  place,  but  that  a  large  river,  the  ^ 
Passaic,  washing  the  lower  end  of  my  lawn  and  garden, 
from  which  it  would  not  be  possible  to  exclude  them,  I  ' 
have  felt  that  it  is  useless  to  attempt  it,  the  rather  that 
there  is  a  large  patch  of  wild-rice  immediately  adjoining 
me,  which  would  tempt  them  to  the  water,  whence  they 
would  drift  away  with  the  current  or  the  tide,  and  be  lost 
or  shot  in  no  time. 

Tlie  best  time  for  shooting  and  for  eating  these  fowl  is 
late  in  October,  when  the  acorns  and  beech-mast,  of  both 
of  whicli  they  are  inordinately  fond,  lie  thick  and  ripe 


THE  STIMNrER  DUCK.  216 

Oil  the  woodland  banks  of  the  streams  and  pools  they 
love  to  frequent.  And  this  reminds  me  of  a  little  sketch, 
illustrative  of  their  habits,  taken  down  almost  verbatiin, 
from  the  lips  of  a  right  good  fellow,  and  at  that  time  a 
right  good  sportsman  also ;  though  now,  alas !  the  un- 
timely loss  of  the  inestimable  blessing  of  eyesight  has 
robbed  him,  among  other  sources  of  enjoyment,  of  that 
favorite  and  innocent  pastime — the  forest  chase : 

"Are  there  many  "Wood  Ducks  about  this  season, 
Tom?"  asked  Eorester,  affecting  to  be  perfectly  care- 
less and  indifferent  to  all  that  had  passed.  "  Did  you 
kill  these  yourself?" 

"  There  was  a  sight  on  them  a  piece  back,  but  they're 
gittin'  scase — pretty  scase  now,  I  tell  you.  Yes,  I  shot 
these  down  by  Aunt  Sally's  big  spring-hole  a  Friday. 
I'd  been  a  lookin'  round,  you  see,  to  find  where  the  quail 
kept  afore  you  came  up  here — for  I'd  a  been  expectin' 
you  a  week  and  better — and  I'd  got  in  quite  late,  toward 
sundown,  with  an  outsidin'  bevy,  down  by  the  cedar 
swamp,  and  druv  them  off  into  the  big  bog  meadows, 
below  Sugarloaf,  and  I'd  killed  quite  a  bunch  on  them 
— sixteen,  I  reckon,  Archer;  and  there  wasn't  but 
eighteen  when  I  lit  on  em' — and  it  was  gittin'  pretty 
well  dark  when  I  came  to  the  big  spring,  and  little  Dash 
was  worn  dead  out,  and  I  was  tired,  and  hot,  and  thun- 
derin'  thirsty,  so  I  sets  down  aside  the  outlet  where  the 
spring  water  comes  in  good  and  cool,  and  I  was  mixkin' 
up  a  nice,  long  drink  in  the  big  glass  we  hid  last  sum- 


216  AMERICAN   GAME. 

mer  down  in  the  mnd-hole,  with  some  great  cider  sper- 
rits — when  what  slioiild  I  hear  all  at  once  bnt  whistle, 
whistlin'  over  head,  the  wings  of  a  whole  drove  on  'em, 
so  up  I  bnckled  the  old  gun ;  but  they'd  plumped  down 
into  the  crick  fifteen  rod  off  or  better,  down  by  the  big 
pin  oak,  and  there  they  sot,  seven  ducks  and  two  big 
purple-headed  drakes — ^beauties,  I  tell  you.  Well,  boys, 
I  upped  gun  and  tuck  sight  stret  away,  but  just  as  I  was 
drawin',  I  kind  o'  thought  I'd  got  two  little  charges  of 
number  eight,  and  that  to  shoot  at  ducks  at  fifteen  rod 
was  n't  nauthen.  Well,  then,  I  fell  a  thinkin',  and  then 
I  sairched  my  pockets,  and  arter  a  piece  found  two  green 
cartridges  of  number  three,  as  Archer  gave  me  in  the 
spring,  so  I  drawed  out  the  small  shot,  and  inned  with 
these,  and  put  fresh  caps  on  to  be  sarten.  But  jest  when 
I'd  got  ready,  the  ducks  had  floated  down  with  the 
stream,  and  dropped  behind  the  pint — so  I  downed  on 
my  knees,  and  crawled,  and  Dash  alongside  on  me,  for 
all  the  world  as  if  the  darned  dog  knowed;  well,  I 
crawled  quite  a  piece,  till  I'd  got  under  a  bit  of  alder 
bush,  and  then  I  seen  them — all  in  a  lump  like,  except 
two — six  ducks  and  a  big  drake— feedin',  and  stickin' 
down  their  heads  into  the  weeds,  and  flutterin'  up  their 
hinder  eends,  and  chatterin'  and  jokin' — I  could  have 
covered  them  all  with  a  handkercher,  exceptin'  two,  as  I 
said  afore,  one  duck  and  the  little  drake,  and  they  was 
off  a  rod  or  better  from  the  rest,  at  the  two  different 
sides  of  the  stream — the  big  bunch  warn't  over  ten  rods 


THE   SUMMER   DUCK.  217 

off  me,  nor  so  far ;  so  I  tuck  siglit  riglit  at  the  big 
drake's  neck.  The  water  was  quite  clear  and  stiU,  and 
seemed  to  have  caught  all  the  little  light  as  was  left  by 
the  sun,  for  the  skies  had  got  pretty  dark,  I  tell  you ; 
and  I  could  see  his  head  quite  clear  agin  the  water — 
well,  I  draw'd  trigger,  and  the  hull  charge  rij^ped  into 
'em — and  there  was  a  scrabblin'  and  a  squatterin'  in  the 
water  now,  I  tell  you — ^but  not  one  on  'em  riz — ^not  the* 
fust  one  of  the  hull  bunch;  but  up  jumped  both  the 
others,  and  I  draw'd  on  the  drake — ^more  by  the  whistlin' 
ot  his  wings,  than  that  I  seen  him — but  I  drawed  stret, 
Archer,  any  ways  ;  and  arter  I'd  pulled  half  a  moment  I 
hard  him  plump  down  into 'the  crick  witt  a  splash,  and 
the  water  sparkled  up  like  a  fountain  where  he  fell.  So 
then  I  did  n't  wait  to  load,  but  ran  along  the  bank  as 
liard  as  I  could  strick  it,  and  when  I'd  got  down  to  the 
spot,  I  teU  you,  little  Dash  had  got  two  on  'em  out  afore 
I  came,  and  was  in  with  a  third.  Well,  sich  a  cuttin' 
and  a  splashin'  as  there  was  you  nivir  did  see,  none  on 
you — I  guess,  for  sartin — leastwise  I  nivir  did.  I'd 
killed,  you  see,  the  drake  and  two  ducks,  dead  at  the 
first  fire,  but  three  was  only  wounded,  wing-tipped,  and 
leg-broken,  and  I  can't  tell  you  what  all.  It  was  all  of 
nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  dark  as  all  out  doors,  afore 
I  gathered  them  three  ducks,  but .  I  did  gather  'em ; 
Lord,  boys,  why  I'd  stayed  till  mornin',  but  I'd  a  got 
them,  sarten.  Well,  the  drake  I  killed  flyin'  I  could  n't 
find  him  that  night,  no  how,  for  the  stream  swept  him 
10 


218  AMEBIC  AN   GAME. 

down,  and  I  hadn't  got  no  guide  to  go  by,  so  I  let  him 
go  then,  but  I  was  up  next  mornin'  bright  and  airly, 
and  started  up  the  stream  clean  from  the  bridge  here. 
Tip  through  Garry's  back-side,  and  my  bog-hole,  and  so 
on  along  the  meadows  to  Aunt  Sally's  run — and  looked 
in  every  willow  bush  that  dammed  the  waters  back, 
like,  and  every  bunch  of  weeds  and  brier-brake,  all  the 
way,  and  sure  enough  I  found  him,  he'd  been  killed 
dead,  and  floated  down  the  crick,  and  then  the  stream 
had  washed  him  up  into  a  heap  of  broken  sticks  and 
briers,  and  when  the  waters  fell,  for  there  had  been  a 
little  freshet,  they  left  him  tliere  breast  uppermost — and 
I  was  glad  to  find  him — ^for  I  think.  Archer,  as  that  shot 
was  the  nicest,  prettiest,  etarnal,  darndest,  long,  good 
shot,  I  iver  did  make,  anyhow ;  and  it  was  so  dark  I 
could  n't  see  him." 

Many  of  his  friends  and  mine  will  recognize  the  char- 
acter, to  whom  I  allude,  as  he  figures  largely  in  the 
pages  of  "  Tlie  "Warwick  Woodlands,"  from  which  the 
above  extract  is  taken,  of  "  My  Shooting-box,"  and  the 
other  sporting  scenes  of  Frank  Forester,  wherein  nothing 
good  or  generous  or  kind  is  related  of  Tom  Draw,  that 
does  not  fall  far  short  of  the  reality. 

Before  closing  this  article,  I  will  correct  an  error  into 
which  I  perceive  I  have  inadvertently  fallen  in  the  first 
page  of  it,  wherein  I  said  that  this  duck,  alone  of  the 
family,  has  the  habit  of  perching,  roosting,  and  nesting 
on  trees. 


THE   SUMMEE   DUCK.  219 

I  should  have  said  alone  of  the  American  family  ;  for 
^  I  find  a  note  by  Mr.  Brewer,  the  last  editor  of  Wilson, 
annexed  to  his  article  on  our  bird,  which  I  prefer  to 
subjoin  instead  of  merely  making  a  verbal  alteration, 
since  I  doubt  not  many  others  are  in  the  same  error,  who 
will  be  glad  to  be  corrected  in  detail.  It  appears,  as 
will  be  seen  below,  that,  although  there  are  no  European 
tree-ducks,  nor  any  other  American,  there  is  a  family  of 
Asiatic  and  African  congeners  of  our  Summer  Duck,  for 
which  an  especial  name  has  been  proposed,  though  not 
as  yet  generally  adopted.  I  might  add  that  the  present 
Latin  name  of  our  bird,  anas  sponsa,  signifies,  being 
interpreted,  the  hride  ducic,  from  the  rare  elegance  of  its 
form  and  beauty  of  its  plumage — a  pretty  name  for  a 
pretty  creature. 

"Tli^se  lovely  ducks  may  be  said  to  represent  an 
incessorial  form  among  the  anaiidcB ;  they  build  and 
perch  on  trees,  and  spend  as  much  time  on  land  as  upon 
the  waters ;  Dr.  Richardson  has  given  this  group,  con- 
taining few  Inembers,  the  title  of  dendronessa  from  their 
arboreal  habits.  Our  present  species  is  the  only  one 
belonging  to  America,  where  it  ranges  rather  to  the 
south  than  north  ;  the  others,  I  believe,  are  all  confined 
to  India.  They  are  remarkable  for  the  beauty  and 
splendor  of  their  plumage,  its  glossy,  silky  texture,  and 
for  the  singular  form  of  the  scapulars,  which,  instead  of 
an  extreme  development  in  length,  receive  it  in  the  con- 
trary proportion  of  breadth  ;  and  instead  of  lying  flat,  in 


220  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

some  stand  perpendicular  to  the  back.  They  are  all 
adorned  with  an  ample  crest,  pendulous,  and  running 
down  the  back  of  the  neck.  They  are  easily  domesti- 
cated, but  I  do  not  know  that  they  have  been  yet  of 
much  utility  in  this  state,  being  more  kept  on  account 
of  their  beauty,  and  few  have  been  introduced  except  to 
our  menageries ;  with  a  little  trouble  at  first,  they  might 
form  a  much  more  common  ornament  about  our  artificial 
pieces  of  water.  It  is  the  only  form  of  a  Tree  Duck 
common  to  this  continent ;  in  other  countries  there  are, 
however,  two  or  three  others  of  very  great  importance 
in  the  natural  system,  whose  structure  and  habits  have 
yet  been  almost  entirely  overlooked  or  lost  sight  of. 
These  seem  to  range  principally  over  India,  and  more 
sparingly  in  Africa  ;  and  the  Summer  Duck  is  the  soli- 
tary instance,  the  United  States  the  nearly  extreme 
limit,  of  its  own  peculiarities  in  this  division  of  the 
world." 

With  this  note  I  close  this  paper,  expressing  only  the 
hope  that  the  bird  will  become  more  largely  domestica- 
ted ;  as  no  more  beautiful  adornment  can  be  conceived 
to  the  parks  and  shrubberies  of  gentlemen,  such  more 
especially  as  possess  the  advantages  of  small  inland 
rivulets,  or  pieces  of  ornamental  water,  whether  natural 
or  artificial. 


THE  AMEEICAN  DEER. 

-  Cervus  Yirginianus. 

This  beautiful  and  noble  animal,  formerly  so  abundant 
in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  from  the  Great  Lakes 
to  the  ocean,  and  from  the  eastern  boundaries  of  Maine 
to  the  southern  limit  of  their  vast  empire,  is  peculiar  to 
the  continent  of  America,  and  differs  entirely  from  each 
of  the  three  European  species,  with  two  of  which  it  has 
been  at  times  confounded,  and  even  more  markedly 
from  all  the  African  and  Asiatic  varieties. 

The  deer  of  Europe,  and  of  Great  Britain  in  particular, 
fi'om  which  country  we  have  derived  most  of  our  sport- 
ing propensities  and  traditions,  and  I  might  add  all  our 
sporting  nomenclature,  consist  of  three  very  distinct 
species.  Tliese  are,  first,  the  Red  Deer,  which  is  now 
found  only  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  in  Somerset  and  Devon,  and  the 
extreme  western  wilds  of  Ireland.  The  male  of  these  is 
known  as  the  Stag  or  Hart,  and  the  female  as  the  Hind. 
This  is  a  magnificent  and  imposing  creature,  handsomer 


222  AMERICAN    GAME. 

even  and  more  stately  than  our  deer,  with  branched 
antlers  exactly  similar  to  those  of  our  great  western  Elk, 
though  of  inferior  size. 

Second,  the  Fallow  Deer,  the  species  usually  kept  in  a 
semi-domesticated  state  in  the  parifs  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry,  both  as  an  ornament  to  the  scenery,  and  as  an 
article  of  luxury  for  the  table.  This  is  a  beautiful  and 
graceful  creature,  far  less  stately  than  the  Hed  Deer,  or 
the  denizen  of  our  forests,  but  slightly  and  symmetrically 
moulded,  and  the  very  heau  ideal  of  grace  and  airy 
motion.  It  has  flattened  or  palmated  horns,  about  mid- 
way in  form  between  those  of  the  Moose  and  Cariboo,  or 
American  Reindeer,  though,  of  course,  proportionally 
smaller.  In  color,  the  Fallow  Deer  differs  materially 
from  all  the  other  species,  and  is  itself  by  no  means 
uniform,  some  individuals  being  almost  black,  and  others 
nearly  white ;  the  majority  are,  however,  beautifully 
dappled,  and  some  pied,  with  tints  of  brown  fawn  color 
and  yellowish  white. 

The  Fallow  Deer  is  not  believed  to  be  indigenous  to 
Great  Britain,  nor  indeed  to  Europe,  being,  I  imagine, 
of  oriental  origin  ;  nor  is  it  found  any  where  in  a  state 
of  nature  or  at  large ;  being  confined  exclusively  in 
parks  or  chases  of  more  or  less  extensive  range,  often 
including  large  tracts  of  forest  land ;  and  it  has  been 
observed  that  the  wilder  the  character  of  the  park,  and 
the  more  broken  and  forest-like  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
especially  when  it  produces  heather  or  fern  in  abun- 


THE   AMKRICAN   DEEK.  223 

dance,  tlie  wilder  and  more  gamy  is  tlie  flavor  of  tlie 
venison. 

The  third  variety  is  the  Eoe,  a  native  of  all  the  wilder 
and  more  broken  forest  regions  of  Great  Britain,  both 
north  and  south,  though  they  are  few  in  number  as 
compared  with  either  of  the  other  species.  They  are 
much  smaller  than  the  Ked  or  Fallow  Deer,  of  a  uniform 
reddish-brown  color,  and  are  distinguished  by  small  erect 
horns,  with  a  single  prong  in  front.  Of  the  two  last 
species  the  male  is  known  as  the  buck,  the  female  as  the 
doe. 

The  American  Deer  in  size,  color,  the  branched  for- 
mation of  its  antlers,  and  the  character  of  its  flesh,  most 
nearly  resembles  the  Red  Deer  of  Europe,  but  is  clearly 
distinguished  from  that  animal  by  some  peculiarities  in 
its  structure  and  by  the  shape  of  its  horns.  In  the 
European  Red  Deer,  the  direction  of  the  main  stem  of 
the  antlers  is  directly  backward,  all  the  branches  or 
prongs  springing  from  the  anterior  side  and  pointing 
forward,  the  lowest  on  each  side,  or  brow  antler,  which 
is  the  principal  defense  of  the  animal  agains.t  his  natural 
enemies,  the  wolf  and  dog,  bending  forward  and  down- 
ward on  the  outer  side  of  the  brow  and  eye. 

In  the  American  Deer,  the  main  stem  at  first  inclines 
backward  for  about  half  its  length,  but  then  turns  for- 
ward with  a  bold  curve,  and  terminates  in  a  sharp 
deflected  point,  all  the  prongs,  which  are  sometimes 
themselves  bifid,  and  even  trifid,  arising  from  the  poste- 


•224:  AMERICAN   GAME. 

rior  side,  and  arising  from  it  in  a  forward  and  upward 
direction.  The  only  exception  to  this  is  tlie  brow  antler, 
a  short  erect  spike,  which  arises  from  the  inner  and 
anterior  surface  of  the  principal  stem. 

In  color  the  American  Deer  is  generally  of  a  reddish- 
brown,  or  fulvous  tint,  darker  above,  and  pure  white  on 
the  chin,  throat,  belly,  and  inside  of  the  fore-legs,  the 
upper  parts  being  more  or  less  diversified  with  cinereous 
gray,  or  bluish  hairs.  These'  become  more  numerous 
during  the  summer,  and  in  the  autumn,  and  during  the 
winter  the  whole  animal  assumes  a  grayer  tint.  Tlie 
ears  are  margined  with  dark  brown,  and  are  white 
within,  the  upper  side  of  the  tail  is  of  the  same  color 
with  the  upper  parts  in  general,  and  is  white  below. 
The  hoofs  are  jet  black. 

The  female  is  smaller  than  the  male,  and  hornless,  biit 
otherwise  resembles  him  exactly  ;  the  fawns  are  beauti- 
fally  spotted  with  irregiilar  wliite  spots  on  a  fulvous  or 
tawny  ground.  The  male  is  generally  known  as  the 
buck,  and  the  female  as  the  doe ;  though,  for  my  own 
part,  I  consider  from  their  greater  analogy  to  the  Euro- 
pean Ked  Deer  than  to  any  other  variety,  that  Hart  and 
Hind  would  be  the  more  correct  and  sportsmanlike 
nomenclature.  This  is,  however,  at  best  but  a  subordi- 
nate matter,  and  need  not  be  insisted  on,  especially  until 
the  graver  and  nfore  important  errors  in  sporting  nomen- 
clature, among  the  birds  and  fishes  especially,  have  been 
corrected. 


THE    AMEEICAN   DEEE.  225 

The  deer  lias  usually  but  one,  never  more  than  two 
fawns  at  a  birtli.  In  the  southern  parts  of  the  State  of 
New  York  these  are  for  the  most  part  dropped  in  May 
and  June,  but  further  north,  somew^hat  earlier  in  the 
year.  During  the  rutting  season  the  males  are  bold  and 
extremely  pugnacious  among  themselves,  although  not 
like  the  Ked  Deer  capable  of  attacking  men  without 
provocation.  The  cry  of  the  deer  when  alarmed  is  a 
quick,  tremulous  whistling  sound,  accompanied  by  a 
stamp  of  the  foot ;  when  mortally  wounded  they  will  at 
times  utter  a  faint  bleat  like  that  of  a  young  calf. 

In  its  habits  the  American  Deer  is,  for  the  most  part, 
except  in  the  vast  prairies  of  the  "West,  a  woodland 
haunter,  as,  according  to  Catallus,  was  the  deer  of  Greece 
and  Asia  Minor,  which,  in  his  comprehensive  and 
picturesque  compound  he  describes  as  sylvicultrix,  tlie 
haunter  of  the  woodlands,  and  in  this  respect  it  diifers 
from  the  Ked  Deer  of  Great  Britain,  which  prefers  the 
difficult  and  craggy  mountain-tops,  or  the  far-extended 
downs  covered  with  waving  heather  to  the  dark  pine 
woods  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  or  the  beautiful  oak 
coppices  of  Devonshire. 

By  law  the  killing  of  the  American  Deer  has  gene- 
rally been  restricted  in  most  States  to  the  months  between 
August  and  December,  both  inclusive,  but  so  rapid  is 
the  progress  of  annihilation  going  on  with  Ihese  beauti- 
ful animals  that  in  some  counties  of  'New  York  the  only 
taonths  during  which  it  is  lawful  to  take  them,  are  Sep- 
10* 


226  AMERICAIT   GAME. 

tember,  October,  and  l^ovember.  All  legislation,  how- 
ever, on  the  subject  of  game  preservation  would  seem  to 
be  hopeless,  so  long  as  the  whole  tone  and  spirit  of  the 
popular  mind  of  the  masses  is  regularj  set  against  their 
enforcement.  Nothing,  indeed,  is  more  singular  or  more 
to  be  lamented  than  the  strange  perversion  of  intellect 
which  seems  to  have  come  over  the  whole  body  of  the 
wliite  settlers  of  North  America,  whether  of  Canada, 
New  Brunswick,  the  Atlantic  States,  or  the  far  West, 
leading  them  to  wage  incessant  and  merciless  war  on 
every  wild  animal,  whether  of  fur,  fin,  or  feather, 
slaughtering  them  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  in 
season  and  out  of  season ;  when  their  flesh  is  nutritive 
and  delicious,  when  it  is  utterly  unfit  for  the  food  of 
man ;  when  their  peltries  or  feathers  are  commercially 
valuable,  when  they  are  worthless;  slaughtering  them 
wantonly  and  recklessly  for  the  mere  love  of  slaughter, 
and  often  leaving  their  carcases  to  decay  in  the  depths 
of  the  forest,  until  they  are  becoming  all  but  extinct,  as 
in  a  few  years  they  unquestionably  will,  unless  sounder 
views  shall  hereafter  prevail.  The  willful  waste  and 
wanton  annihilation  of  the  buffalo  in  the  "West ;  the 
knocking  on  the  head  of  the  deer,  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  with  clubs,  by  snow-shoe  mounted  ruffians, 
during  the  deep  snows  of  winter,  when  their  flesh  and 
hides  are  alike  valueless— and  that  literally  by  tens  of 
thousands  ;  and  the  sweeping  the  spawning  beds  of  the 
salmon  with  the  seine,  and  persecuting  the  spent  and 


THE   iUIERIC'AN   DEER.  227 

worthless  fish  with  spear  and  torch,  till  they  have  disap- 
peared from  their  most  favorite  rivers  in  the  British 
Provinces,  are  all  forms  of  this  same  wanton,  wicked,  I 
had  well  nigh  said  fiendish  spirit,  which  is  really  a  char- 
acteristic, as  I  have  observed,  of  the  white  settler  of 
every  part  of  America. 

It  is  an  absurdity  to  say  that  the  spread  of  civilization 
and  culture  has  destroyed  the  game,  for  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  game  of  all  sorts  increases  in  the  very 
same  ratio  in  which  cultivation  increases,  if  left  unmo- 
lested in  their  seasons  of  reproduction,  nesting,  spawn- 
ing, or  tending  their  helpless  young,  so  long  as  a  sufii- 
ciency  of  woodland  is  left  to  afford  them  shelter. 

In  Scotland,  the  Red  Deer,  which  are  strictly  pre- 
served, so  far  as  the  prohibition  to  kill  them  out  of 
season  goes,  but  neither  fed,  tended,  nor  herded,  are  and 
have  been  for  years  rapidly  on  the  increase ;  and  it 
would  probably  be  within  the  mark  to  say  that  there  are 
at  this  instant  fifty  times  as  many  Red  Deer  in  the  small 
space  to  the  northward  of  the  Highland  line,  than  in  all 
the  States  between  Maine  and  the  Delaware.  In  the 
eastern  and  northern  parts  of  Maine,  they  are  still  plen- 
tiful despite  the  sedulous  efforts  of  the  lumber-men  to 
annihilate  the  race,  and  the  occasional  devastation  of  the 
wolves.  In  the  northern  parts  of  Vermont,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Connecticut,  a  few  are  still  to  be  found,  though 
they  are  but  as  individuals  compared  to  the  vast  herds 
which  were  wont  to  roam  those  green  glades  and  wild 


228  AMEKICAN   GA^IE. 

mountain  pastures.  With  tlie  exception  of  a  few  on 
Long  Island,  in  tlie  northern  counties,  and  about  the  still 
wild  banks  of  the  Delaware,  in  'New  York,  they  are 
already  extinct.  In  New  Jersey,  with  a  small  wretched 
remnant  of  the  once  as  abundant  heath-hen,  prairie-fowl, 
or  pinnated  grouse,  a  few  straggling  deer  may  still  be 
found  in  that  remote  and  little  traversed  region  called 
from  its  prevailing  growth,  the  pines,  lying  along  the 
Atlantic  coast.  Elsewhere  they  exist  not.  To  the  west- 
ward of  Pennsylvania,  and  through  tlie  South,  even  so 
far  as  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  through  the  West  to  the 
Kocky  Mountains,  and  northward  through  both  the 
Canadas,  they  are  still  abundant,  and  will  continue  so,  it 
may  be  expected,  for  some  years  to  come — in  the 
Canadas  and  the  Southern  States  especially,  where  the 
laws  for  their  preservation  are  rigidly  enforced,  and 
where  the  greater  number  of  educated  men  and  gentry 
settled  throughout  the  rural  districts,  have  produced 
some  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  masses  a^  regards  the 
wholesale  and  useless  extinction  of  game  out  of  season. 

The  modes  of  pursuing  and  taking  this  fine  animal, 
whether  for  pleasure  or  profit,  are  almost  innumerable, 
but  of  these  almost  all  partake  of  the  poaching  or  pot- 
hunting  system  too  much  to  obtain  from  me  more  than  a 
mere  passing  notice. 

The  first  and  most  generally  practiced  of  these  is  what 
is  variously  called  driving,  or  stand-hunting,  in  which 
the  shooters  are  placed  on  the  circuit  of  a  certain  tract 


THE   AMERICAN   DEER.  22Sj 

of  woodlands,  each  one  at  the  debouchure  of  a  deer-path, 
upon  some  lake,  streamlet,  or  road  which  it  may  chance 
to  intersect,  while  the  interior  of  the  circuit  is  beat  by 
drivers  and  hounds,  wliich  force  the  deer  from  the  tract 
by  one  or  other  of  the  paths  ;  and  than  this,  although  it 
has,  I  know,  its  passionate  votaries,  I  can  conceive  no 
duller,  more  poacher-like,  or  less  exciting  sport — if  sport 
it  must  be  called. 

The  standing  shivering,  or  sweltering  for  hours,  as  it 
may  chance  to  be  in  August  or  in  December,  at  a  run- 
way, perhaps  not  once  hearing  the  hounds  even  at  a 
distance  from  morn  till  dewy  eve ;  perhaps  catching  for 
a  moment  the  volume  of  their  cadenced  cry,  only  to 
hear  it  die  away  in  the  distance  until  the  crack  of  a 
remote  rifle  tells  you  that  the  deed  is  done,  and  that  not 
unto  you  is  the  doing  of  it;  perhaps,  if  you  have  the 
very  best  luck  of  it,  hearing  the  cry  come  nigher,  nigher, 
swelling  momently  on  the  ear,  hearing  the  bushes 
shaken,  and  the  dry  sticks  crackling  under  a  rapid  foot, 
and  then  to  complete  the  whole,  seeing  a  great,  timid, 
trembling,  helpless  beast  driven  up  to  within  ten  feet  of 
the  muzzle  of  your  shot-gun  or  rifle,  which,  after  whist- 
ling or  bleating  at  him  to  compel  him  to  stop  short  in 
his  tracks  and  stand  motionless  as  a  mark  for  your  buck- 
shot practice,  you  incontinently  butcher  in  cold  blood. 

Yet  a  more  scurvy  mode  than  this,  of  deerjiunting,  is 
practiced  by  night,  under  the  name  of  fire-hunting,  in 
two  difi^erent  ways,  either  by  floating  and  paddling  in 


230  AMERICA2J   GAME. 

canoes  along  the  margin  of  streams  and  brooks  to  which 
the  deer  come  down  to  feed,  having  a  light  elevated  in 
the  bows  upon  a  plank  which  partially  conceals  the 
person  of  the  shooter — or  by  walking  stealthily  through 
the  woods  with  a  fire-pan  supported  by  a  staff,  and  filled 
with  blazing  light  wood  knots,  carried  before  you  by  an 
assistant,  close  in  whose,  wake  you  crawl  along,  with 
ready  gun,  prepared  for  secret  murder.  Seeing  the 
mysterious  lights  through  the  glimmering  twilight  of  the 
woods,  the  timid  deer  stands  at  gaze  half  curious,  half 
fascinated,  until  the  strong  reflected  light  falling  on  the 
balls  of  his  distended  eyes,  makes  them  glare  out  like 
balls  of  fire,  and  enables  his  dastardly  associate  to  point 
the  deadly  tube  directly  at  the  centre  of  his  broad  fair 
brow  between  them,  and  so  to  slay  him  unsuspecting. 

Worse  yet,  indeed  worst  of  all,  where  all  are  bad  and 
base,  is  the  practice  borrowed  from  the  Indian,  who 
killing  not  for  sport  but  for  necessity,  not  to  gratify  the 
hunter's  gallant  zeal,  but  to  supply  his  wigwam  with 
food  for  its  inmates,  at  all  times  killed  from  ambush, 
and  never  discharging  an  arrow  but  when  he  was  sure  of 
killing — is  the  practice,  I  say,  of  lying  in  ambush  by 
some  salt-lick,  or  spring  to  which  the  deer  comes  down 
to  drink,  and,  well  concealed  to  the  leeward  of  his  path, 
to  shoot  him  down  without  difficulty,  as  without  excite- 
ment. 

The  more  legitimate  modes — the  only  modes  to  which 
1  think  the  true  sportsman  will  resort — are  deer-stalking, 


THE   AMERICAN   DEEE.  231 

or  as  it  is  called  still-lmnting,  in  tlie  nortli — hunting  the 
Hart  manfully  and  gallantly  with  fleet  horses,  and  a  cry 
of  well-matched  and  tuneful  fox-hounds,  with  the  blythe 
view  halloa,  and  the  cheery  blast  of  the  key-bugle,  with 
the  chivalric  sportsmen  of  the  sunny  south — and  last, 
not  least,  coursing  him  with  a  leash  of  fleet  greyhounds, 
or,  better  yet,  a  leash  of  the  tall,  wire-haired,  rough- 
coated  deer-hounds  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  over  the 
wild  and  verdant  prairies  of  the  West.  « 

Tlie  first  of  these  methods  is  the  only  one,  which  the 
rough,  craggy,  and  mountainous  character  of  the  forest- 
land  frequented  by  deer  in  the  Northern  States,  which 
horses  cannot  for  the  most  part  traverse  at  all,  certainly 
nx)t  at  speed,  -will  allow  the  hunter  to  adopt ;  and  if  it 
lack  the  maddening  excitement  of  galloping  over  bush, 
bank,  and  scaur,  taking  bold  leaps,  and  striding  irresist- 
ible over  ravine  or  gully,  over  fallen  tree  or  rough  rail- 
fence,  with  the  fierce  music  of  the  hounds  stirring  your 
brain  almost  to  madness,  it  requires  at  least  so  many 
qualities  of  skill  and  science,  such  quickness  of  eyesight, 
such  instinctive  calculation  of  causes  and  effects,  such 
Indian-like  power  of  following  the  faintest  trail,  of 
detecting  by  the  displacement  of  a  yellow  leaf,  by  the 
disordered  foliage  of  a  broken  bush,  or  the  broken  bark 
on  a  frayed  sapling,  whither  and  when,  and  at  what  pace 
the  object  of  pursuit  has  passed  that  way,  that  by  the 
consciousness  of,  and  confidence  in  your  own  self-power, 
self-energy,  and"  self-sufiiciency  to  all  emergencies,  that 


232  AMERICAN   GAME. 

it  must  be  considered  as  a  sport,  and  as  one  of  a  high, 
and  noble  order.  To  these  advantages  again  are  to  be 
added  the  wild  and  glorious  haunts  of  nature  into  which 
it  leads  our  vagrant  footsteps — the  springs,  fitted  to  be 
the  baths  of  brighter  njmphs  than  any  of  those  who 
trod  immortal.  Dryads  or  Oreads  of  Delia's  train,  by 
which  we  eat  our  frugal  meal,  and  with  which  we  qualify 
our  temperate  cups — the  high  and  liberal  mountain-tops, 
visited  *by  a  clearer  and  more  lustrous  sunshine,  fanned 
by  a  purer  and  more  exhilarating  air,  than  any  known  to 
the  sleek  citizen,  to  which  we  climb,  led  by  the  fierce 
excitement  of  pursuit ;  and  then  the  ruddy  watch-fire 
silently  blazing  in  the  depths  of  the  mysterious  wilder- 
ness before  the  bark-roofed  shanty,  before  the  hemlock 
bed,  which  shelter  and  console  us  after  the  long  tramp 
and  the  hurried  chase — the  awakening  to  the  cries  of  the 
early  birds,  in  the  fresh  gray  of  the  awakening  dawn, 
the  delicious  bath  in  the  clear  basin  of  the  mountain- 
torrent,  the  woodman's  morning  meal  of  trout  or  venison, 
cooked  by  the  glowing  embers,  and  eaten  with  no  better 
condiments  than  appetite  and  exercise  and  health  may 
furnish — all  these — all  these  are  the  delights  which  add 
so  inspiriting  a  charm  to  the  ItTorth  Country  still-hunt, 
and  half  tempt  the  dwellers  of  pent  cities  to  abandon 
the  culture,  the  luxury,  the  companionship,  and  the  civ- 
ilization of  gentlemen,  for  the  more  congenial  toils  and 
more  inspiriting  delights  of  the  woodman's  life. 


THE  AMERICAN  DEEB.  233 

That  is  an  aspiration  which  all  men,  who  have  tasted 
of  the  freshness,  the  originality,  the  primitive  elastic 
vigor  of  the  woodland  life,  untrammeled  by  no  formulae, 
fettered  by  no  false  and  absurd  conventionalities,  a  life 
emphatically  of  men,  desire  to  taste  again — yearn  after 
it,  how  eagerly,  when  debarred  from  it  by  the  hateful 
necessities  of  business — and,  when  they  return  to  it, 
after  years  of  desuetude,  greet  it  as  old  men  would  greet 
renewed  manhood,  or  exiles  restored  home.  This  is  the 
feeling  which  is  so  instinct  of  life,  and  sunshine,  and 
breezy  freshness  in  the  writings  of  the  earlier  and  more 
original  of  England's  poets — which  prompted  one  great 
Boman  to  cry  mournfully,  "  0  rus,  0  rus,  qiiando  ego  te 
aspiciam,^^  and  another  to  admit  half  apologetically,  as 
if  it  were  in  some  sort  a  reproach,  "  Flumina  amem  et 
eylvas  mutosque  inglorius  amnes  f^  and  in  all  breasts  a 
something  of  this  hunter's  spirit,  under  one  form  or 
other  will  burst  perennial,  until  we  go  whither  the  weary 
are  at  rest,  and  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling.  And 
a  good  spirit  it  is,  in  moderation,  and  good  to  be 
indulged — and  so  up  with  the  forest  chaunt. 

So  it  is — yet  let  us  sing 
Honor  to  the  old  bowstring  I 
Honor  to  the  bugle  horn ! 
Honor  to  the  woods  unshorn  ! 
Honor  to  the  Lincoln  green  ! 
Honor  to  the  woodman  keen ! 


234  AMERICAN   GAME. 

and  health,  and  joj,  and  success  still  increasing  to  the 
bold,  the  fair,  the  gallant  hunter,  as  all  ill-fortunes  and 
most  foul  reverses  to  the  disloyal  pot-hunter,  the  low  and 
sordid  poacher  of  whatever  land  he  be  I 


IX. 
SEPTEMBER. 


€\t  §xm\Mhx^t)!  Ctal. 


Anas  Cardinensis. 


Anas  Discora. 
CANADA  ;  BRITISH  PROVINCES ;  UNITED  STATES. 


^^xiV^  .. 


THE  GREEN-WINGED  TEAL. 

Anas  Carolinensis. 

THE  BLUE-WINGED  TEAL. 

Anas  Discors, 

In  this  present  month,  the  sport  of  duck-shooting  on 
the  inland  streams,  rivers,  and  lakelets,  may  be  held  to 
commence  in  earnest,  as  contrasted  to  the  pursuit  of  the 
same  tribes  on  the  outer  bays,  estuaries,  and  surf-banks. 
About  the  end  of  September,  and  thenceforth  through 
this  and  the  next  ensuing  month,  according  to  the  varia- 
tions of  the  seasons,  and  the  longer  or  shorter  endurance 
of  that  delicious  time,  the  most  delicions  and  most  gor- 
geous of  the  whole  American  year,  known  throughout 
this  continent  as  Indian  Summer,  the  Mallard,  and  the 
two  beautiful  species  which  we  have  placed  at  the  head 
of  this  article,  begin  to  make  their  appearance  on  the 
little  lakes  of  the  interior,  and  in  the  various  streams 
and  rivers  which  fall  into  them,  and  thence  downward  to 
the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

In  the  vast  northern  solitudes  of  the  great  lakes  of  the 
northwest,  in  all  the  streams  of  Upper  Canada,  even  to 


238  AMERICAN   GAME. 

the  feeders  of  Lake  Superior,  and  throughout  the  western 
country  so  far  south  as  Texas,  and  northward  to  the 
Columbia  and  the  fur  countries,  the  Blue- Winged  Teal 
breeds,  literally  by  myriads.  Throughout  the  great 
lakes,  it  is  abundant  in  the  early  autumn,  becoming 
excessively  fat  on  the  seed  of  the  wild  rice,  with  which 
the  shallows  of  all  these  waters  are  overgrown,  and  being 
deservedly  esteemed  as  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  very 
best,  of  the  duck  tribe.  But  it  is  the  first  of  its  race  to 
remove  from  the  wild,  limpid  waters,  and  wood-embo- 
somed rivers  of  the  great  west,  to  the  seaboard  tide- waters, 
taking  the  inland  water-courses  on  their  route,  rarely 
visiting  the  actual  sea-shores,  and  proceeding  on  the 
occurrence  of  the  first  frosts,  for  they  are  singularly  sus- 
ceptible of  cold,  to  the  Southern  States,  where  they  swarm, 
especially  in  the  inundated  rice-fields  of  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina,  during  the  winter  months.. 

The  Green-Winged  Teal,  which  is  the  nearest  con- 
gener, and  frequently  the  associate  of  the  Blue-Wing, 
-has  a  far  less  extensive  range,  so  far  as  regards  its  breed- 
ing-grounds, in  as  much  as  it  never,  so  far  as  has  been 
satisfactorily  shown,  has  nidificated  or  produced  its 
young  south  of  the  great  lakes,  nor  even  there  in  great 
numbers,  its  favorite  haunts  for  the  purposes  of  repro- 
duction, being  the  extreme  northern  swamps  and  wooded 
morasses,  almost  up  to  the  verge  of  the  arctic  circles. 
It  does  not  come  down  on  its  southward  migration,  at 
nearly  so  early  a  period  of  the  autumn  as  its  congener, 


THE    GEEEN-WINGED   TEAL.  239 

being  less  susceptible  of  cold,  and  tarrying  on  the  Great 
Lakes  till  the  frosts  set  in  with  sufficient  severity  to  pre- 
vent its  frequenting  its  favorite  haunts  with  pleasure,  or 
obtaining  its  food  with  facility.  It  is  rarely  or  never 
seen  in  the  Middle  States  during  the  summer,  but  is 
tolerably  abundant  during  the  autumn  on  all  the  marshy 
lakes  and  pools,  and  along  the  shores  of  all  the  reedy 
rivers  from  the  Great  Lakes  downward  to  the  sea-board, 
though,  like  the  last  named  species,  it  is  purely  a  fresh- 
water duck,  never  frequenting  the  sea-shores  or  salt-bays, 
finding  no  food  thereon  with  which  to  gratify  its  delicate 
and  fastidious  palate,  which,  eschewing  fish,  the  larvse 
of  insects,  and  the  lesser  crustaccB^  relishes  only  the 
seeds  of  the  various  water  plants  and  grasses,  the  tender 
leaves  of  sbme  vegetables,  and  more  especially  the  grain 
of  the  wild  rice,  Zizania  panicula  effusa^  which  is  its 
favorite  article  of  subsistence,  and  one  to  which  may  be 
ascribed  the  excellence  of  every  bird  of  air  or  water 
which  feeds  on  it,  from  the  Rice-Bird  and  the  Rail,  to 
the  Teal,  the  Canvass-Back,  and  even  the  large  Thick- 
Billed  FuUgula^  closely  allied  to  the  Scoter,  the  Yelvet 
Duck,  and  other  uneatable  sea-fowl  of  Lake  Huron, 
which  are  scarcely,  if  at  all, inferior  to  the  Red-Heads 
of  Chesapeake  Bay,  the  Gunpowder,  or  the  Potomac. 
On  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Delaware,  both  these 
beautiful  little  ducks  were  in  past  years  excessively 
abundant,  so  that  a  good  gunner,  paddling  one  of  the 
sharp,  swift  skiffs  peculiar  to  those  waters,  was  certain 


240  AMERICAN   GAME. 

of  tilling  his  boat  witli  these  delicious  ducks  within  a  few 
hours'  shooting.  Both  of  these  species  are  rather  tame 
than  otherwise,  the  blue-winged  bird  more  particularly 
which  has  a  habit,  on  tlie  lower  waters  of  the  Delaware 
especially,  of  congregating  on  the  mud  in  vast  flocks, 
sunning  themselves  in  the  serene  and  golden  light  of  a 
September  noon,  so  careless  and  easy  of  approach,  that 
the  gunner  is  frequently  enabled  to  paddle  his  skiff 
within  a  few  yards  of  them,  and  to  rake  them  with  close 
discharges  of  his  heavy  batteries.  At  times,  when  the 
tide  is  out,  and  the  birds  are  assembled  on  the  flats  out 
of  gunshot  from  the  water's  edge,  the  thorough-going 
sportsman,  reckless  of  wet  feet  or  muddy  breeches,  will 
run  his  skiff  ashore,  several  hundred  yards  above  or 
below  the  flock,  and  getting  cautiously  overboard,  will 
push  it  before  him  over  the  smooth,  slippery  mud-flats, 
keeping  himself  carefully  concealed  under  its  stern  until 
within  gunshot,  which  he  can  sometimes  reduce  to  so 
little  as  fifteen  or  twenty  yards,  by  this  murderous  and 
stealthy  method.  The  Green- Winged  Teal  is  much  less 
apt  to  congregate,  especially  on  shore,  than  the  other, 
and  consequently  affords  less  sport  to  the  boat-shooter, 
keeping  for  the  most  part  afloat  in  little  companies,  or 
trips,  as  they  are  technically  called,  very  much  on  the 
alert,  and  springing  rapidly  on  the  wing  when  disturbed. 
They,  and  the  Blue- Wings  also,  fly  very  rapidly,  dodging 
occasionally  on  the  wing,  not  unlike  to  a  wild,  sharp- 
flying  Woodcock,  and  when  they  alight,  darting  down- 


THE   GJJEEN-WINGED   TEAL.  241 

ward  with  a  short,  sudden  twist  among  the  reeds  or 
rushy  covert,  exactly  after  the  fashion  of  the  same  bird. 

The  commoner  and,  in  our  opinion — where  these  birds 
are  abundant  either  along  the  courses  of  winding  drains 
or  streamlets,  or  in  large  reedy  marshes,  with  wet  soil 
and  occasional  pools  or  splashes — far  the  more  exciting 
way  of  killing  them  is  to  go  carefully  and  warily  on  foot, 
with  a  good  medium-sizfed  double-gun,  say  of  eight  to  ten 
pounds  weight,  and  a  thoroughly  well  broke  and  steady 
spaniel,  to  retrieve  and  occasionally  to  flush  the  birds, 
which  will  sometimes,  though  rarely,  lie  very  hard.  A 
good  sportsman  will  frequently,  thus  late  in  the  autumn, 
when  the  mornings  are  sharp  and  biting,  and  the  noons - 
warm  and  hazy,  but  before  the  ice  makes,  pick  up,  on 
favorable  ground,  his  eight  or  nine  couple  in  a  day's 
walking,  with  a  chance  of  picking  up  at  the  same  time  a 
few  Snipe,  Golden  Plovers,  Curlew,  or  Godwit;  and  this, 
in  our  mind,  is  equal  to  slaughtering  a  boat  load  by 
sneaking  up  in  ambush  to  within  twenty  yards  of  a  great 
company,  whistling  to  make  them  lift  their  heads  and 
ruffle  up  their  loosened  plumage,  so  as  to  give  easy 
entrance  to  the  shot,  and  then  pouring  into  them  at  half 
point-blank  range,  a  half  pound  of  heavy  shot. 

"In  the  southern  States  they  are  commonly  taken," 
says  Wilson,  in  "  vast  numbers,  in  traps  placed  on  the 
small  dry  eminences  that  here  and  there  rise  above  the 
water  of  the  inundated  rice-fields.'  These  places  are 
strewed  with  "rice,  and  by  the  common  contrivance 
1.1 


242  AMEEICAN  GAME.  * 

called  a  figure  four,  they  are  cauglit  alive  in  hollow 
traps."  This  we,  of  course,  merely  mention  as  illus- 
trative of  the  habits  of  the  bird ;  for,  of  course,  no  sports- 
man would  dream  of  resorting  to  so  worse  than  poacher- 
like proceeding.  The  mode  described  by  the  eloquent 
pioneer  of  American  natural  history,  is  probably  prac- 
tised, for  the  most  pail;,  by  the  negroes  for  the  supply 
of  their  masters'  table,  and  furnishing  their  own  pockets 
with  a  little  extra  change,  and  is  not  used  by  the  plant- 
ers as  a  means  of  sport  or  amusement.  It  must  be 
remembered,  also,  that  Wilson,  than  whom  there  is  no 
writer  more  to  be  relied  on  in  matters  which -^e  relates 
^f  his  own  knowledge,  and  as  occurring  in  his  own  days, 
must  often  be  taken  cuTTb  grano  sails,  as  to  the  numbers 
of  birds  slain  in  this  way  or  that  within  a  certain  time — 
things  which  he  records,  probably,  on  hearsay,  and  on 
which — we  are  sorry  to  say  it — even  good  sportsmen, 
men  who  on  any  other  subject  would  scorn  to  deviate 
one  hair's  breadth  from  the  truth,  will  not  hesitate  to 
draw  a  bow  as  long  and  as  strong  as  Munchausen's. 
Again,  he  writes  of  times  when  sporting  was  but  little 
pursued,  otherwise  than  as  a  method  of  procuring  supe- 
rior food  for  the  kible,  or  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
noxious  vermin  and  beasts  of  prey ;  •  when  the  rules  of 
sportsmanship  were  little  understood  and  as  little  re- 
garded ;  and,  lastly,  when  game  abounded  to  a  degree 
literally  inconceivable  in  our  day — although  we  have 
ourselves  seen,  with  sorrow,  the  diminution,  amounting 


.3^ 


THE  GEEEN- WINGED  TEAL.  243 

in  many  regions  around  our  large  cities  almost  to  ex- 
tinction, of  all  birds  and  beasts— nay,  but  even  fish  of 
chase,  within  the  last  twenty  years.  We  must  be  care- 
ful therefore  not  to  charge  exaggeration  on  a  writer  who 
beyond  a  doubt,  faithfully  recorded  that  which  he  him- 
self saw  and  enjoyed  in  his  day;  which  we  might  see 
likewise  and  enjoy  in  our  generation,  and  our  children 
and  grand-children  after  us,  if  it  were  not  for  the  greedy, 
stupid,  selfish,  and  brutal  pot-hunting  propensities  of  our 
population,  alike  rural  of  the  country  and  mechanical  ol 
the  cities,  which  seems  resolutely  and  of  set  purpose 
bent  on  the  utter  annihilation  of  every  species  of  game, 
whether  of  fur,  fin,  or  feather,  which  is  yet  found  within 
our  boundaries. 

In  my  opinion,  the  common  error  of  all  American 
fowlers  and  duck  shooters,  lies,  in  the  first  place,  in  the 
overloading  the  gun  altogether,  causing  it  to  recoil  so 
much  as  to  be  exceedingly  disagreeable  and  even  pain- 
ful and  in  the  same  degree  diminishing  the  eflfect  of  the 
discharge  ;  for  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  when  a 
gun  recoils,  whatever  force  is  expended  on  the  retro- 
gressive motion  of  the  breech,  that  same  force  is  to  be 
deducted  from  the  propulsion  of  the  charge.  In  the 
second  place,  he  erroneously  loads  with  extremely  large 
and  heavy  shot,  the  result  of  which  is,  in  two  respects, 
inferior  to  that  of  a  lighter  and  higher  number.  First, 
as  there  will  be  three  or  four  pellets  of  No.  4  for  every 
one  pellet  of  A  or  B  in  a  charge,  and,  consequently,  as 


24-i  AMERICAN   GAME. 

tlie  load  is  tlierebj  so  mucli  tlie  more  regularly  distrib- 
uted, and  so  much  the  more  likely  to  strike  the  object, 
and  that  in  several  places  more,  in  the  ratio  of  three  or 
four  to  one,  than  could  be  effected  by  A's  or  B's. 
Second,  as  the  flesh  will  constantly  close  over  the  wound 
made  by  a  small  shot,  so  as  to  cause  the  bleeding  to  go 
on  internally  to  the  engorgement  of  the  tissues  and  suf- 
focation by  hemorrhage  ;  whereas  the  wound  made  by 
the  large  grain  will  relieve  itself  by  copious  bleeding, 
and  the  bird  so  injured  will  oftentimes  recover,  after 
having:  fallen  even  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  or  lain 

to  ,5^ 

flapping,  as  it  were,  in  the  death-struggle  on  the  blood- 
stained sand  or  grassy  hassocks.  This  fact  has  been  well 
noticed,  and  several  examples  adduced  to  prove  its 
tnith,  by  Mr.  Giraud,  in  his  exceedingly  clear  and 
correct,  though  to  our  taste,  far  too  brief  volume  on  the 
"  Birds  of  Long  Island." 

For  my  own  use  I  invariably  adopt  for  all  the  smaller 
species  of  duck — as  the  two  varieties;,  of  Teal,  the 
Summer  Duck,  the  Golden  Eye,  and  the  Buffel-headed 
Duck,  Anates,  Carolinensis,  Discors,  /Sponsa,  and  JF\di- 
gulcEj  Clangula,  and  Albeola — the  same  shot  which  is 
generally  used  for  the  various  birds  known  on  our  shores 
and  rivers  as  bay-snipe,  viz :  No.  4  or  5 — the  latter  best 
for  the  Plovers,  the  former  for  duck,  whether  in  large  or 
small  guns.  In  this  relation  I  may  observe  that,  on  one 
occasion — the  only  one,  by  the  way,  on  which  I  ever 
saw  a  green-winged  teal  in  the  summer  season — ^I  killed 


THE    GEEEN-WINGED   TEAL.  245 

a  coiq^le  of  these  beautiful  birds,  right  and  left,  while 
woodcock  shooting,  in  Orange  County,  New  York,  with 
ISTo.  8  shot.  They  sprang  quite  unexpectedly  from  behind 
a  wdllow  bush,  on  tlie  Wawayanda  creek,  and  I  dropped 
them  both  quite  dead^  somewhat  to  my  own  astonish- 
ment, and  to  the  utter  astounding  of  Fat  Tom,  who 
witnessed  it,  into  the  middle  of  the  stream,  respectively 
at  twenty  and  twenty-five  yards  distance.  Until  I  recov- 
ered them  I  supposed  that  they  were  young  wood  ducks, 
but  on  examination  they  proved  to  be  young  green- 
winged  teal,  of  that  season,  in  their  immature  j)lumage. 
This  must  have  been  in  the  last  week  of  July  or  the  first 
of  August — it  was  many  years  since,  and  as  at  that  time 
I  kept  no  shooting  diary,  1  unfortunately  am  unable  to 
verify  the  exact  date.  The  birds  must,  I  conclude,  have 
been  bred  in  that  vicinity,  by  what  means  I  cannot  con- 
jecture, unless  that  the  parent  birds  might  have  been 
wounded  in  the  spring,  and  disabled  from  completing 
their  northern  migration,  and  that  this,  as  is  sometimes 
the  case  with  the  minor  birds  of  passage,  might  have 
superinduced  their  breeding  in  that,  for  them,  far  south- 
ern region.  In  corroboration  of  this  I  may  add  that,  in 
the  spring  of  1846,  a  couple  of  these  birds  haunted  a 
small  reedy  island  in  front  of  my  house,  on  the  Passaic, 
to  so  late  a  day  in  summer — the  29th,  if  I  do  not  err,  of 
May — that  I  sedulously  avoided  disturbing  them,  in  the 
hope  that  they  w^ould  breed  there.  This  I  yet  think 
would  have  been  the  case  but  for  the  constant  disturb- 


246  AMERICAN   GAME. 

ance  of  that  lovely  river  throughout  the  summer  by 
gangs  of  ruffianly  loafers,  with  whom  the  neighboring 
town  of  Newark  abounds  beyond  any  other  town  of  its 
size  in  the  known  world,  boating  upon  its  silvery  surface 
day  and  night,  and  rendering  day  and  night  equally 
hideous  with  their  howls  and  blasphemies. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  description  of  these  birds  it 
is  well  to  observe  that  it  will  be  found  the  better  way, 
in  approaching  them,  as  indeed  all  wild  fowl,  to  work, 
if  possible,  up  wind  to  them  ;  not  that  wild  fowl  have 
the  power,  as  some  pretend,  of  scenting  the  odor  of  the 
human  enemy  on  the  tainted  gale,  as  is  undoubtedly  the 
case  with  deer  and  many  other  quadrupeds,  but  that 
their  hearing  is  exceedingly  acute,  and  that  their  heads 
are  pricked  up  to  listen,  at  the  occurrence  of  the  least 
unusual  sound,  and  at  the  next  moment — Tiey^  presto  1 — 
they  are  off. 

The  little  cat  at  the  head  of  this  paper,  for  the  spirited 
and  faithful  execution  of  which  the  author  and  artist 
must  be  permitted  to  return  his  acknowledgments  to  his 
friend,  Mr.  Brightly,  represents  a  favorite  feeding-ground 
of  the  various  tribes  of  water  fowl,  as  is  indicated  by 
the  large  gaggle  of  geese  passing  over,  from  right  to 
left,  and  the  trip  of  ^reen- wings  alighting  to  the  call  of 
a  clamorous  drake  in  the  background.  On  a  rocky  spur 
of  the  shore,  in  the  right  foreground,  is  a  male  Green- 
Winged  Teal,  in  the  act  of  springing,  with  his  legs 
already  gathered  under  him ;  and,  still  nearer  to  the  front 


THE  GREEN-WINGED  TEAL.  247 

of  the  picture,  on  the  right,  a  Blue- Winged  Drake, 
swimming  on  the  limpid  water,  soliciting  his  congener, 
with  reverted  neck,  and  the  harsh  gabble — whence  his 
name — to  take  wing  and  greet  the  new-comers — ^it  being 
the  object  of  the  draftsman  to  give  an  idea  not  merely 
of  the  markings  and  form  of  these  two  most  beautiful 
and  graceful  of  the  duck  tribe,  but  of  their  motions,  the 
character  of  their  flights,  and  the  nature  of  their  feeding- 
grounds  and  habitations. 

The  head  of  the  Green- Winged  Teal  is  of  moderate 
size  and  compressed  ;  the  bill  nearly  as  long  as  the  head, 
deeper  than  broad  at  the  base,  depressed  at  the  tip ; 
neck  slender,  of  moderate  length;  body  full  and 
depressed  ;  wings  rather  small,  feet  short  and  rather  far 
back. 

The  plumage  is  short  and  blended  ;  that  of  the  hinder 
head  and  neck  elongated  into  a  soft  filamentous  droop- 
ing crest.  The  bill  is  black  ;  iris  hazel ;  feet  light  blue  ; 
head  and  upper  part  of  neck  bright  chestnut  brown  ;  a 
broad  band  of  shining  rich  bottle-green,  narrowing  from 
the  eye  backward  and  downward  to  the  nape,  margined 
below  with  black,  anterior  to  which  is  a  white  line ; 
chin  dusky  brown.  Upper  parts  and  flanks  white, 
beautifully  and  closely  undulated  with  narrow  lines  of 
deep  gray.  Anterior  to  the  wings  is  a  broad  transverse 
lunated  white  bar — this  alone  distinguishing  the  Ameri- 
can from  the  Ewroj^ean  hi/rd.  The  wing  coverts,  scapu- 
lars and  quills  gray.    The  speculum  bright  green  above, 


248  AMEEICAH   GAME. 

bliie-black  below,  margined  posteriorly  with  pure  white. 
Tail  brownish  gray,  margined  with  paler  brown.  Lower 
part  of  the  neck  undulated,  like  the  back.  Breast  pale 
rufous,  spotted  and  banded  with  black ;  white  below. 
Abdomen  white,  barred  with  gTay.  A  black  patch 
under  the  tail ;  the  lateral  tail  coverts  tawny,  the  larger 
black,  white-tipped  and  margined.  Length  of  male 
bird,  14|.24.     Female,  13|.22i. 

The  description  and  drawing  of  this  bird  are  taken,  by 
kind  permission,  which  the  writer  gratefully  acknowl- 
edges, from  a  fine  specimen  in  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Science  of  this  city. 

The  Blue-Winged  Teal  is  rather  larger  than  the  abovej 
the  male  measuring  16.31J,  the  female  15.24. 

Tlie  shape  and  proportions  of  this  bird  closely  resem- 
ble those  of  the  latter,  but  in  plumage  it  widely  differs 
from  it.  The  bill  is  blueish  black ;  iris  dark  hazel ;  feet 
dull  yellow,  webs  dusky  ;  upper  part  of  the  head  black, 
a  semilunar  patch  of  pure  white,  margined  with  black 
anterior  to  the  eye  ;  the  rest  of  the  head  and  upper  neck 
deep  pui-plish  gray,  with  changeable  ruddy  reflections. 
The  lower  hind  neck,  back,  alula,  and  upper  parts  gene- 
rally, rich  chocolate  brown,  every  feather  margined  with 
paler  tints,  from  reddish  buff  to  pale  reddish  gi'ay,  with 
black  central  markings,  changing  to  metallic  green  in 
the  centres.  Upper  wing  coverts  rich  ultra-marine  blue, 
with  a  metallic  lustre ;  the  lower  parts  pale  reddish 
orange,  shaded  on  the  breast  with  purplish  red,  and 


THE   BLUE-WINGED   TEAL.  249 

tliickly  spotted  with  roundish  or  elliptical  black  spots  ; 
axillary  feathers,  lower  wing  coverts,  and  a  patch  on  the 
side  of  the  rump,  pure  white ;  lower  tail  coverts  brown- 
ish black. 

These,  with  the  exception  of  the  Buffel-Headed  Duck, 
are  the  two  smallest ;  with  the  exception  of  the  Summer 
Duck,  the  two  loveliest ;  with  the  exception  of  the  Can- 
vas-Back the  two  best  of  the  duck  tribe.  Well  met  be 
they,  whether  on  the  board  or  in  the  field — shot  be  they 
with  'No.  4 — eaten  roast,  underdone,  with  cayenne  and  a 
squeeze  of  a  lemon,  lubricated  with  red  wine,  quantum 
suff. 


X. 
OCTOBER. 


Ortyx  Virginianue. 

THE  AMEKICAN  PAETEIDGE. 

CANADA  WEST;    MASSACHUSETTS  TO  MEXICO. 


%\t  §itttm 

Ardea  Lentiginosa. 

THE  QUAWK.    THE  DUIS^KADOO. 

CANADA;  BRITISH  PROVINCES;  UNITED  STATES* 


THE    AMERICAN    QUAIL,    OR    VIRGINIA 
PARTRIDGE. 

Ori/yx  Virginiamcs.    Perdix  Yirginianus. 

November  is  upon  us — hearty,  brown,  healthful  Novem- 
ber, harbinger  of  his  best  joys  to  the  ardent  sportsman, 
and  best  beloved  to  him  of  all  the  months  of  the  great 
annual  cycle ;  November,  with  its  clear,  bracing,  west- 
ern breezes ;  its  sun,  less  burning,  but  how  far  more 
beautiful  than  that  of  fierce  July,  as  tempered  now  and 
softened  by  the  rich,  golden  haze  of  Indian  summer, 
quenching  his  torrent  rays  in  its  mellow,  liquid  lustre, 
and  robing  the  distant  hills  with  wreaths  of  purple  light, 
half  mist,  half  shrouded  sunshine  ;  November,  with  its 
wheat  and  buckwheat  stubbles,  golden  or  bloody  red ; 
with  its  sere  maize  leaves  rustling  in  the  breeze,  whence 
the  quail  pipes  incessant ;  with  its  gay  woodlands  flaunt- 
ing in  their  many-colored  garb  of  glory  ;  with  its  waters 
more  clearly  calm,  more  brilliantly  transparent  than 
those  of  any  other  season  ;  November,  when  the  farmer's 
toils  have  rendered  their  reward,  and  his  reaped  harvests 
glut  his  teeming  garners,  sa  that  he  too,  like  the  pent 


254:  '  AMERICAN   GAME. 

denizen  of  swarming  cities,  may  take  his  leisure  with 
his  gun  "  in  the  wide  vale,  or  by  the  deep  wood-side," 
and  enjoy  the  rapture  of  those  sylvan  sports  which  he 
may  not  participate  in  sweltering  July,  in  which  they 
are  alas!  permitted  by  ill-considered  legislation,  in 
every  other  state,  save  thine,  konest  and  honorable 
Massachusetts.* 

In  truth  there  is  no  period  of  the  whole  year  so  well 
adapted,  both  by  the  seasonable  climate,  and  the  state 
of  the  country,  shorn  of  its  crops,  and  not  now  to  be 
injured  by  the  sportsman's  steady  stride,  or  the  gallop 
of  his  high-bred  setters,  both  by  the  abundance  of  game 
in  the  cleared  stubbles  and  the  sere  woodlands,  and  by 
the  aptitude  of  i  the  brisk,  bracing  weather,  for  the 
endurance  of  fatigue,  and  the  enjoyment  of  manful 
exercise,  as  this  our  favorite  November. 

In  this  month,  the  beautiful  Kuffed  Grouse,  that 
mountain-loving  and  man-shunning  hermit,  steals  down 
from  his  wild  haunts  among  the  giant  rhododendrons, 

*  A  law  was  passed,  during  t£e  spring'  of  the  present  year,  in  that 
respectable  and  truly  conservative  State,  by  which  the  murder  of  un- 
fledged July  Woodcock,  by  cockney  gunners,  was  prohibited  ;  and  the 
close  time  judiciously  prolonged  until  September.  The  debate  was 
remarkable  for  two  things,  the  original  genius  with  which  the  Hon. 
Member  for  Westboro'  persisted  that  Snipe  are  Woodcock,  and  Wood- 
cock Snipe,  all  naturalists  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding ;  and  the 
pertinent  reply  to  the  complaint  of  a  city  member,  that  to  abolish  July 
shooting  would  rob  the  city  sportsman  of  his  sport — viz.,  that  in  that 
case  it  would  give  it  to  the  farmer.    Marry,  say  we,  amen,  so  be  it  I 


THE  AMERICAN   QUAIL.  255 

and  evergreen  rock-calmias,  to  nearer  woodskirts,  and 
cedar-brakes  margining  the  red  buckwheat  stubbles,  to 
be  found  there  by  the  staunch  dogs,  and  brought  to  bag 
by  the  quick  death-shot,  "  at  morn  and  dewy  eve,"  with- 
out the  toil  and  torture,  often  most  vain  and  vapid,  of' 
scaling  miles  on  miles  of  moimtain-ledges,  struggling 
through  thickets  of  impenetrable  verdure  among  the 
close-set  stems  of  hemlock,  pine,  or  juniper,  only  to  hear 
the  startled  rush  of  an  unseen  pinion,  and  to  pause, 
breathless,  panting,  and  outdone,  to  curse,  while  you 
gather  breath  for  a  renewed  effort,  the  bird  which  haunts 
such  covert,  and  the  covert  which  gives  shelter  to  such 
birds. 

In  this  month,  if  no  untimely  frost,  or  envious  snow 
flurry  come,  premature,  to  chase  him  to  the  sunny 
swamps  of  Carolina  and  the  rice-fields  of  Georgia,  the 
plump,  white-fronted,  pink-legged  autumn  "Woodcock, 
flaps  up  from  the  alder-brake  with  his  shrill  whistle,  and 
soars  away,  away,  on  a  swift  and  powerful  wing  above 
the  russet  tree-tops,  to  be  arrested  only  by  the  instinctive 
eye  and  rapid  finger  of  the  genuine  sportsman  ;  and  no 
longer  as  in  faint  July  to  be  bullied  and  bungled  to 
death  by  every  German  city  pot-hunter,  or  every  potter- 
ing rustic  school-boy,  equipped  and  primed  for  murder, 
on  his  Saturday's  half  holyday. 

In  this  month,  the  brown-jacketed  American  hare, 
which  our  folk  will  persist  in-  calling  Rabhit — though  it 
neither  lives  in  warrens,  nor  burrows  habitually  under 


256  AMERICAN   GAME. 

ground,  and  tliongli  it  breeds  not  eYery  month  in  the 
year,  which  are  the  true  distinctive  characteristics  of  the 
Rabbit — is  in  his  prime  of  conditions,  the  leverets  of  the 
season,  plump  and  well-grown ;  and  the  old  bucks  and 
does,  recruited  after  the  breeding^eason,  in  high  health 
and  strength,  and  now  legitimate  food  for  gunj)owder, 
legitimate  quarry  for  the  chase  of  the  merry  beagles. 

In  this  month  especially,  the  Quail,  the  best-loved  and 
choicest  object  of  the  true  sportsman's  ambition ;  the 
bird  which  alone  affords  more  brilliant  and  exciting 
sport  than  all  the  rest  beside  ;  the  bravest  on  the  wing, 
and  the  best  on  the  board ;  the  swiftest  and  strongest 
flyer  of  any  feathered  game  ;  the  most  baffling  to  find, 
the  most  troublesome  to  follow  up,  and  when  followed 
up  and  found,  the  most  difficult  to  kill  in  style ;  the 
beautiful  American  Quail  is  in  his  highest  force  and 
feather  ;  and  in  this  month,  according  to  the  laws  of  all 
the  States,  even  the  most  rigorous  and  stringent  in  pres- 
ervation, killable  legitimately  under  statute. 

In  ISTew  York,  generally,  the  close-time  for  the  Quail 
ends  with  October,  and  he  may  not  be  slain  until  the 
first  day  of  ]S"ovember ;  in  New  Jersey,  ortygicide  com- 
mences on  the  25th  of  October,  in  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  on  some  day  between  the  15th  of  the  past 
and  the  first  of  the  present  month;  in  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware  and  Maryland,  where  they  are  something 
more  forward,  as  breeding  earlier  in  the  season  than  in 
the  Eastern  States,  on  the  first  of  October  ;  and  in 


THE   AMEBIC  AN   QUAIL.  257 

Canada  "West,  where  tliey  are  exceeding]/  abundant,  on 
the  first  of  September ;  which  is,  for  many  reasons, 
entirely  too  early,  as  hereafter  I  shall  endeavor  to 
demonstrate. 

In  my  own  opinion,  the  first  of  November,  and  even 
the  middle  of  October,  are  too  late  for  the  termination 
of  the  Quail's  close-time,  inasmuch  as  five-sevenths  of 
the  broods  in  ordinarily  forward  seasons  are  full-groAvn 
and  strong  on  the  wing,  as  well  as  all  the  crops  off  the 
ground,  by  the  first  of  October ;  and  although  the  late, 
second,  or  third  broods  may  be  undersized,  they  are  still 
Avell  able  to  take  care  of  themselves  in  case  the  j)arent 
birds  are  killed  ;  whereas,  on  account  of  their  immature 
size,  they  are  safe  from  the  legitimate  shot;  arid,  on 
account  of  their  imsaleability  in  market  to  the  restau- 
rant, from  the  poaching  pot-shot  also. 

I  should,  therefore,  myself,  be  strongly  inclined  to 
advocate  the  adoption  of  one  common  day,  and  that  day 
the  first  of  October,  for  the  close-time  of  all  our  upland 
game  ;  the  English  Snipe  alone  excepted.  Touching  the 
reasons  for  postponing  the  day  of  Woodcock-shooting,  a 
notice  will  be  found  in  our  July  number,  and  an  extend- 
ed discussion  in  my  Field  Sports,  vol.  I.  pp.  169  to  200. 
Of  the  Quail,  in  regard  to  this  point,  I  have  said  enough 
here,  unless  this  ;  that,  in  my  opinion,  there  is  far  more 
need  to  protect  them  from  the  trap  during  the  wintry 
snows,  than  from  the  gu^  in  the  early  autumn  ;  the 
latter  cannot  possibly  at  any  time  exterminate  the  race  ; 


253  AMEKICA2J   GAME. 

the  former  not  onlj  easily  may^  but  actually  does  all  but 
anniliilate  the  breed,  whenever  the  snow  falls  and  lies 
deep  during  any  weeks  of  December,  during  the  whole 
of  which  month  the  pursuit  and  sale  of  this  charming 
little  bird  is  legal. 

Could  I  have  my  way,  the  close-time  for  Quail  should 
end  on  the  last  day  of  September;  and  the  shooting 
season  end  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  December; 
before  which  date  snow  now  rarely  lies  continuously  in 
New  Jersey,  Southern  JSTew  York,  or  Pennsylvania. 
Why  I  would  anticipate  the  termination  of  the  close- 
time,  in  reference  to  the  Euffled  Grouse,  I.  shall  state  at 
length,  when  I  come  to  treat  of  that  noble  bird,  in  our 
December  issue ;  to  which  month  I  have  attributed  it, 
because  it  is  then  that  it  is^  though  in  my  oj^inion,  it 
ought  not  to  he^  most  frequently  seen  on  our  tables. 
While  on  the  topic  of  preservation,  I  will  mention  a  fact, 
which  certainly  is  not  widely,  much  less  generally 
known,  among  farmers ;  namely,  that  this  merry  and 
domestic  little  bird  is  one  of  his  best  friends  and  assist- 
ants in  the  cultivation  of  his  lands.  During  nine  or  ten 
months  of  the  year  he  subsists  entirely  on  the  seeds  of 
many  of  the  most  troublesome  and  noxious  weeds  and 
grasses,  which  infest  the  fields,  more  especially  those  of 
the  ragwort,  the  dock,  and  the  briar.  It  is  believed,  I 
might  almost  say  ascertained,  that  he  never  plucks  any 
kind  of  grain,  even  his  own  loved  buckwheat  when  ripe, 
from  the  stalk,  but  only  gleans  the  fallen  seeds  from  the 


THE  AMERICAN  QUAIL.  259 

Btubbles  after  harvest,  so  tliat  while  he  in  nothing  dete- 
riorates the  harvest  to  be  ingathered,  he  tends  in  the 
highest  degree  to  the  preservation  of  clean  and  unweeded 
fields  and  farms  ;  indeed,  when  it  is  taken  into  consider- 
ation that  each  individual  Quail  consumes  daily  nearly 
two  gills  of  weed-seed,  it  will  be  at  once  evident  that  a 
few  bevies  of  these  little  birds,  carefully  and  assiduously 
preserved  on  a  farm,  will  do  more  towards  keeping  it 
free  of  weeds,  than  the  daily  annual  labor  of  a  dozen 
farm  servants.  This  preservation  will  not  be  counter- 
acted or  injured  by  a  moderate  and  judicious  use  of  the 
gun  in  the  autumnal  months  ;  for  the  bevies  need  thin- 
ning, especially  of  the  cock-birds,  which  invariably  out- 
number the  hens,  and  which,  if  unable  to  pair,  from  a 
want  of  mates,  form  into  little  squads  or  companies  of 
males,  which  remain  barren,  and  become  the  deadly 
enemies  of  the  young  cocks  of  the  following  year,  beat- 
ing them  off  and  dispersing  them ;  though,  strange  to 
"say,  they  will  themselves  never  mate  again,  nor  do  aught 
after  remaining  unpaired  during  one  season,  to  propagate 
their  species.  The  use  of  the  trap,  on  the  contrary, 
destroying  whole  bevies  at  a  swoop,  where  the  gun,  even 
in  th'e  most  skillful  hands,  rarely  much  more  than  deci- 
mates them,  may,  in -a  single  winter's  day,  if  many  traps 
be  set,  destroy  the  whole  stocking  of  a  large  farm  for 
years,  if  not  forever.  I  have  myself  invariably  remark- 
ed, since  my  attention  was  first  called  to  the  fact,  that 
those  farms  which  are  best  stocked  with  Quail,  are  inva- 


2u0  A:>IEIiICA]S^    GAME. 

riably  tlie  cleanest  of  weeds  ;  and  a  riglit  good  sports- 
man, and  good  friend  of  mine,  working  on  the  same  base 
^er  contra^  says  that,  in  driving  Iiis  shooting-cart  and 
dogs  through  a  country,  he  has  never  found  it  worth  his 
while  to  stop  and  beat  a  district'lTull  of  weedy  and  dirty 
farms,  as  such  never  contain  Quail. 

If  this  may  lead  our  farmers  to  consider  that  every  live 
Quail  does  far  more  good  on  the  farm,  than  the  shilling 
earned  by  his  capture  in  the  omnivorous  trap ;  and 
therefore  to  prohibit  their  sons  and  farm-boys  from  exter- 
minating them  at  their  utmost  need,  when  food  is  scarce, 
and  shelter  hard  to  find,  my  words  will  not  have  been 
altogether  wasted,  nor  my  object  unattained. 

Were  I  a  farmer,  I  would  hang  it  over  my  kitchen 
fire-place,  inscribed  in  goodly  capitals — "  Spare  the 
Quail !  If  you  would  have  clean  fields  and  goodly  crops, 
spare  the  Quail !  So  shall  you  spare  your  labor." 

And  now,  in  a  few  words,  we  will  on  to  their  nomen- 
clature, their  distinctive  marks,  their  regions  of  inhabit- 
ation, seasons,  haunts  and  habits ;  and  last,  not  least, 
how,  when,  and  where  lawfully,  honorably,  sportsmanly, 
and  gnostically,  you  may  and  shall  kill  them. 

I  will  not,  however,  here  pause  long  to  discuss  the 
point,  whether  they  ought  to  be  termed  Quail  or  Par- 
tridge. •  Scientifically  and  practically  they  are  neither, 
but  a  connecting  link  between  tlie  two  svhgenera.  True 
Partridge,  nor  true  Quail,  yqvj  jperdix,  nor  very  GoUtrniXy 
exists  at  all  anywhere  in  America.     Our  bird,  an  inter- 


THE    AMERICAN   QtTAIL.  261 

mediate  bird  between  the  two,  named  by  the  naturalists 
Ortyx^  wbicli  is  the  Greek  term  for  true  Quail,  is  peculiar 
to  America,  of  which  l)ut  one  species,  that  before  us,  is 
found  in  the  United  States,  except  on  tlie  Pacific  coast 
and  in  California,  where  there  are  many  other  beautiful 
varieties.  Our  bird  is  known  everywhere  East,  and 
everywhere  Northwest  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  Canada, 
as  the  Quail — everywhere  South  as  the  Partridge.  In 
size,  plumage,  flight,  habits,  and  cry,  it  more  closely 
resembles  the  European  Quail ;  in  some  structural  points, 
especially  the  shape  aud  solidity  of  the  bill,  the  Euro- 
pean Partridge.  On  the  whole,  I  deem  it  properly 
termed  American  Quail  ;  but  whether  of  the  two  it  shall 
be  called,  matters  little,  as  no  other  bird  on  this  conti- 
nent can  clash  with  it,  so  long  as  we  avoid  the  ridicule 
of  calling  one  bird  by  two  diiferent  terms,  on  the  oppo- 
site sides  of  one  river — the  Delaware.  The  stupid  blun- . 
der  of  calling  the  Puffled  Grouse,  Pheasant,  and  Part- 
ridge, in  the  South  and  East,  is  a  totally  different  kind 
of  misnomer ;  as  that  bird  bears  no  resemblance,  how- 
ever distant,  to  either  of  the  two  species,  and  has  a  very 
good  English  name  of  his  own,  videlicet,  "  Puffed  or 
Tippeted  Grouse,"  by  which  alone  he  is  known  to  men 
of  brains  or  of  sportsmanship.  With  regard  to  our 
Quail,  it  is  different,  as  he  has  no  distinctive  English 
name  of  his  own  ;  but  is,  even  by  naturalists,  indiscrim- 
inately known  as  Quail  and  Partridge.  The  former  is 
certainly  the  truer  appellation,  as  he  approximates  more 


262  AMERICAN  GAME. 

closely  to  that  siib-genus.  We  wish  mucli  that  this 
question  could  be  settled ;  which  we  fear,  now,  that  it 
never  can  be,  from  the  want  of  any  sporting  authori1/y^ 
in  the  country,  to  pass  judgment.  The  "  Spirit  of  the 
Times,"  though  still  as  well  supported  and  as  racy  as 
ever,  has,  I  regret  to  say,  ceased  to  be  an  authority,  and 
has  become  a  mere  arena  wherein  for  every  scribbler  to 
discuss  and  support  his  own  undigested  and  crude 
notions  without  consideration  or  examination  ;  and 
wherein  those  who  know  the  least,  invariably  fancying 
themselves  to  know  the  most,  vituperate  with  all  the 
spite  of  partisan  personality,  every  person  who  having 
learned  more  by  reading,  examination  of  authorities, 
and  experience  than  they,  ventures  to  express  an  opin- 
ion differing  from  their  old-time  prejudices,  and  the 
established  misnomers  of  provincial  or  sectional  vulgar- 
ism. 

But  to  resume,  the  American  Quail,  or  "  Partridge  of 
the  South,"  is  too  well  known  throughout  the  whole  of 
America,  from  the  waters  of  the  Kennebec  on  the  East, 
and  the  Great  Lakes  on  the  IS'orth — ^beyond  which  latter 
except  on  the  South-western  peninsula  of  Canada  West, 
lying  between  Lakes  Erie,  St.  Clair,  and  Huron,  they  are 
scarcely  to  be  found — is  too  well  known,  almost  to  the 
extreme  South,  to  need  description.  Their  beauty,  their 
familiar  cry,  their  domestic  habits  during  the  winter, 
when  they  become  half-civilized,  feeding  in  the  barn- 
yards, and  often  roosting  under  the  cattle-sheds  with  the 


THE  AMERICAN  QUAIL.  263 

poultry,  render  tliem  familiar  to  all  men,  women,  boys 
and'  fools  throughout  the  regions  which  they  inhabit. 
It  is  stated  by  ornithologists,  that  they  abound  from 
Nova  Scotia  and  the  northern  parts  of  Canada  to  Florida 
and  the  Great  Osage  villages ;  but  this  is  incorrect,  as 
they  rarely  are  seen  eastward  of  Massachusetts  ;  never  in 
Nova  Scotia,  or  Canada  East ;  and  range  so  far  as  Texas 
and  the  edges  of  the  great  American  salt  desert.  The 
adult  male  bird  differs  from  the  hen  in  having  its  chaps 
and  a  remarkable  gorget  on  the  throat  and  lower  neck, 
pure  white,  bordered  with  jetty  black ;  which  parts  in 
the  young  male  and  the  adult  female,  are  bright  reddish- 
yellow  ;  the  upper  parts  of  both  are  beautifully  dashed 
and  freckled  with  chestnut  and  mahogany-brown,  black, 
yellow,  gray,  and  pure  white  ;  the  under  parts  pure 
white,  longitudinally  dashed  with  brownish  red,  and 
transversely  streaked  with  black  arrow-headed  marks. 
The  colors  of  the  male  are  all  brighter,  and  more  defi- 
nite, than  in  the  female. 

Everywhere  eastward  of  the  Delaware  the  Quail  is 
resident,  never  rambling  far  from  the  haunts  in  which 
he  is  bred.  Everywhere  to  the  westward  he  is  in  the 
later  autumn  migratory,  moving  constantly  on  foot,  and 
never  flying  except  when  flushed  or  compelled  to  cross 
streams  and  water-courses,  from  the  west  eastward  ;  the 
farther  west,  the  "more  marked  is  this  peculiarity. 

The  Quail  pairs  early  in  March  ;  begins  to  lay  early 
in  May,  in  a  nest  made  on  the  surface  of  the  ground, 


264:  AMERICAN   GAME. 

usually  at  tlie  bottom  of  a  tussock  or  tuft  of  grass,  lier 
eggs  being  pure  wliite,  and  from  ten  to  tbirtj-two  in 
number,  tbougb  about  fourteen  is  probably  the  average 
of  the  bevies.  The  period  of  incubation  is  about  four 
weeks,  the  young  birds  run^the  instant  they  clip  the 
shell,  and  fly  readily  before  they  have  been  hatched  a 
fortnight.  So  soon  as  the. first  brood  is  well  on  the  wing, 
the  cock  takes  charge  of  it,  and  the  hen  proceeds  to  lay 
and  hatch  a  second,  the  male  bird  and  first  brood 
remaining  in  the  close  vicinity,  and  the  parents,  I  doubt 
not,  attending  the  labor  of  incubation  and  attending  the 
young.  This  I  have  long  suspected  ;  but  I  saw  so  many 
proofs  of  it,  in  company  of  my  friend  and  fellow  sports- 
man, "Dinks,"  while  shooting  together  near  Fort  Maiden, 
in  Canada  West — where  we  found,  in  many  instances, 
two  distinct  bevies  of  different  sizes  with  a  single  pair 
of  old  birds,  when  shooting  early  in  September  of  last 
year — that  we  were  equally  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
the  fact,  and  of  the  unfitness  of  the  season. 

In  October,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  late 
broods,  they  are  fit  for  the  gun ;  and  then,  while  the 
stubbles  are  long,  and  the  weeds  and  grasses  rank,  they 
lie  tlie  best  and  are  the  least  wild  on  the  wing.  The 
early  mornings  and  late  afternoons  are  the  fittest  times 
for  finding  them,  when  they  are  on  the  run,  and  feeding 
in  the  edges  of  wheat  and  rye  stubbles,  or  buckwheat 
patches  bordering  on  woodlands.  In  the  middle  of  the 
day  they  either  lie  up  in  little  brakes  and  bog-meadows, 


THE   AMEKICAN    QTJAIL.  265 

or  bask  on  sandy  banks,  and  craggy  bill-sides,  wben 
tbey  are  collected  into  little  buddies,  and  are  tben  diffi- 
cult to  find.  As  soon  as  flusbed,  tbey  pitcb  into  tbe 
tbickest  neigbboring  covert,  wbetber  bog-meadow,  briar- 
patcb,  cedar-brake,  ravine,  or  rougli  corn-stubble,  tbey 
can  find,  tbeir  fligbt  being  wild,  rapid,  and  impetuous, 
but  rarely  very  long,  or  well  sustained.  As  tbey 
unquestionably  possess  tbe  mysterious  power,  wbetber 
voluntary  or  involuntary,  of  holding  in  tbeir  scent,  for  a 
sbort  time  after  aligbting,  and  are  difficultly  found  again 
till  tbey  bave  run,  I  recommend  it,  as  by  far  tbe  better 
way,  to  mark  tbem  down  well,  and  beat  for  anotber 
bevy,  until  you  bear  tbem  calling  to  eacb  otber ;  tben 
lose  no  time  in  fiusbing  tbem  again,  wben  tbey  are  sure 
to  disperse,  and  you  to  bave  sport  witb  tbem. 

Myself,  I  prefer  setters  for  tbeir  pursuit,  as  more  dash- 
ing, more  enduring,  and  abler  to  face  briars — otbers 
prefer  pointers,  as  steadier  on  less  work,  and  better  able 
to  fag  witbout  water.  Either,  well  broke,  are  good — ill 
broke,  or  unbroke,  worthless.  Still  give  me  setters — 
Russian  or  Irish  specially !  Quail  fly  very  fast,  and 
strong,  especially  in  covert,  and  require  the  whole  charge 
to  kill  tbem  dead  and  clean.  At  cross  shots,  shoot  well 
ahead  ;  at  rising  shots,  well  above  ;  and  at  straight-away 
shots,  a  trifle  below  your  birds ;  and  an  oz.  J  of  ISTo. 
8  early,  and  of  E"o.  Y,  late,  will  fetch  them  in  good 
tetyle.  And  so  good  sport  to  you,  kind  reader  ;  for  this, 
if  I  err  not,  is  doomed  to  be  a  crack  Quail  season. 
12 


THE  BITTERN.    AMERICAN  BITTERN. 

Ardea  Minor  sive  Lentiginos. 

THE  INDIAN  HEN.    THE  QUAWK. 
THE  DUNKADOO. 

This,  tliougli  a  very  common  and  extremely  "beautiful 
Lird,  with  an  exceedingly  extensive  geographic  range, 
is  the  object  of  a  very  general  and  perfectly  inexplicable 
prejudice  and  dislike,  common,  it  would  seem,  to  all 
classes.  The  gunner  never  spares  it,  although  it  is  per- 
fectly inoffensive;  and  although  the  absurd  prejudice, 
to  which  I  have  alluded,  causes  him  to  cast  it  aside, 
when  killed,  as  uneatable  carrion,  its  flesh  is  in 
reality  very  delicate  and  juicy,  and  still  held  in  high 
repute  in  Europe ;  while  here  one  is  regarded  very  mjich 
in  the  light  of  a  cannibal,  as  I  have  myself  experienced, 
for  venturing  to  eat  it.  The  farmer  and  the  boatman 
stigmatize  it  by  a  filthy  and  indecent  name.  The  cook 
turns  up  her  nose  at  it,  and  throws  it  to  the  cat ;  for  the 
dog,  wiser  than  his  master,  declines  it — not  as  unfit  to 
eat,  but  as  game^  and  therefore  meat  for  his  masters. 


THE  BITTERN.      AMERICAN  BITTERN.     Ardea  Minor  sive  Lenti^ir 


/ 


THE   BITTEEN.  267 

iNow  the  Bittern  would  not  probably  be  mucli  ag- 
grieved at  being  voted  carrion,  provided  liis  imputed 
csirrion-dom,  as  Willis  would  probably  designate  the 
condition,  procured  him  immunity  from  the  gun. 

But  to  be  shot  first  and  thrown  away  afterward, 
would  seem  to  be  the  very  excess  of  that  condition 
described  by  the  common  phrase  of  adding  injury  to 
insult. 

Under  this  state  of  mingled  persecution  and  degrada- 
tion, it  must  be  the  Bittern's  best  consolation  that,  in  the 
days  of  old,  when  the  wine  of  Auxerre,  now  the  com- 
mon drink  of  republican  Yankeedom,  which  annually 
consumes  of  it,  or  in  lieu  of  it,  more  than  grows  of  it 
annually  in  all  France,  was  voted~by  common  consent 
the  drink  of  kings — ^he,  with  his  congener  and  com- 
patriot the  Ileronschaw,  was  carved  by  knightly  hands, 
upon  the  noble  deas  under  the  royal  canopy,  for  gentle 
dames  and  peerless  damoiselles ;  nay,  was  held  in  such 
repute,  that  it  was  the  wont  of  prowest  chevaliers,,  when 
devoting  themselves  to  feats  of  emprise  most  perilous, 
to  swear  "  before  God,  the  bittern,  and  the  ladies  !"  an 
honor  to  which  no  quadruped,  and-  but  two  plumy 
bipeds,  other  than  himself,  the  heron  and  the  peacock, 
were  admitted. 

Those  were  the  days,  before  gunpowder,  "  grave  of 
chivalry,"  was  taught  to  Doctor  Faustus  by  the  Devil, 
who  did  himself  no  good  by  the  indoctrination,  but 
exactly  the  reverse,  since  war  is  thereby  rendered  less 


268  AMERICAN   GAME. 

bloodj,  and  much,  more  uncruel — the  days  when  no 
booming  duck-gun  keeled  him  over  with  certain  and 
inglorious  death,  as  he  flapped  up  with  his  broad  vans 
beating  the  cool  autumnal  air,  and  his  long,  greenish- 
yellow  legs  pendulous  behind  hirh,  from  out  of  the  dark 
sheltering  water-flags  by  the  side  of  the  brimful  river,  or 
the  dark  woodland  tarn ;  but  when  the  cheery  yelp  of  a 
cry  of  feathery-legged  spaniels  aroused  him  from  his 
arundinaceous,  which  is  intei-preted  by  moderns  reedy, 
lair  ;  when  the  triumphant  whoop  of  the  jovial  falconers 
saluted  his  uprising;  and  when  he  was  done  to  death 
right  chivalrously,  with  honorable  law  permitted  to  him, 
as  to  the  royal  stag,  before  the  long-winged  ^Norway 
falcons,  noblest  of  all  the  fowls  of  air,  were  unhooded 
and  cast  off  to  give  him  gallant  chase. 

If,  when  struck  down  from  his  pride  of  place  by  the 
crook-beaked  blood-hound  of  the  air,  his  legs  were  mer- 
cilessly broken,  and  his  long  bill  thrust  into  the  ground, 
that  the  falcon  might  dispatch  him  without  fear  of  con- 
sequences, and  at  leisure,  it  was  doubtless  a  source  of 
pride  to  him,  as  to  the  tortured  Indian  at  the  stake,  to 
be  so  tormented,  since  the  amount  of  the  torture  was 
commensurate  with  the  renown  of  the  tortured  ;  besides 
— for  which  the  Bittern  was,  of  course,  truly  grateful — 
it  was  his  high  and  extraordinary  prerogative  to  have 
his  legs  broken  as  aforesaid,  and  his  long  bill  thrust  into 
the  ground,  by  the  fair  hand  of  the  loveliest  lady  present 
— ^thrice  blessed  Bittern  of  the  days  of  old. 


THE   BITTERN.  269 

A  very  different  fate,  in  sootli,  from  being  riddled 
with  a  charge  of  double  Bs  from  a  rusty  flint-lock  Queen 
Anne's  musket,  poised  by  the  horny  paws  of  John 
Verity,  and  then  ignobly  cast  to  fester  in  the  sun, 
among  the  up-piled  eel-skins,  fish-heads,  king-crabs,  and 
the  like,  with  which,  in  lieu  of  garden-patch  of  well- 
trained  rose-bush,  the  south-side  Long  Islander  orna- 
^•••ents  his  front-door  yard,  rejoicing  in  the  effluvia  of  the 

' '.  decomposed  piscine  exuvice,  which  he  regards  as 
"  considerable  hullsome,"  beyond  Sabsean  odors,  Syrian 
nard,  or  frankincense  from  Araby  the  blest ! 

Being  eaten  is  being  eaten  after  all ;  whether  it  be  by 
a  ISTew  Zealand  war-chief,  a  IS'ew  York  alderman,  a 
peerless  lady,  or  a  muck-worm ;  and  I  suppose  it  feels 
much  the  same,  after  one  is  once  well  dead ;  but,  if  I 
had  my  choice,  I  would  most  prefer  to  be  eaten  by  the 
damoiselle  of  high  degree,  and  most  dislike  to  be  bat- 
tened on  by  the  alderman,  as  beirg  more  ravenous  and 
less  appreciative  than  either  Zealander  or  muck-worm. 

The  Bittern,  however,  be  it  said  in  sober  earnest, 
although  like  many  other  delicious  dishes  prized  by  the 
wiser  ancients,  but  now  fallen  into  disuse,  if  not  into 
disrepute — to  wit,  the  heronschaw,  the  j)eacock,  the 
curlew,  and  the  swan — all  first-rate  dainties  to  the  wise 
— is  a  viand  not  easily  to  be  beaten,  especially  if  he  be 
sagely  cooked  in  a  well-baked,  rich-crusted  pastry,  with 
a  tender  and  fat  rump-steak  in  the  bottom  of  the  dish,  a 
beef's  kidney  scored  to  make  gravy,  a  handful  of  cloves, 


270  AMERICAN   GAME.  * 

salt  and  black  pepper  quantamsuff.^  a  dozen  hard-boiled 
eggs,  and  a  pint  of  scalding-hot  port  wine  ponr^d  in  just 
before  you  serve  up. 

What  you  say  is  perfectly  true,  my  dear  madam, 
cooked  in  that  manner  an  old  India  rubber  shoe  is  good ; 
not  only  would  be,  but  is.  But  you'd  better  believe  it, 
a  Bittern  is  a  great  deal  better.  K  you  don't  believe 
me,  try  the  Bittern,  and  then  if  you  prefer  it,  adhere  to 
the  shoe. 

But  now  to  quit  his  edible  qualifications  and  turn  to 
his  personal  appearance,  habits  of  life,  and  location,  and 
other  characteristics,  we  will  say  of  him,  in  the  words  of 
Wilson,  that  eloquent  pioneer  in  the  natural  history  of 
America,  that  the  American  Bittern,  whom  it  pleases 
the  Count  de  Buffon  to  designate  as  Le  Butor  de  la  Baye 
de  Hudson,  "  is  another  nocturnal  species,  common  to 
all  our  sea  and  river  marshes,  though  nowhere  nume- 
rous. It  rests  all  day  among  the  reeds  and  rushes,  and, 
unless  disturbed,  flies  and  feeds  only  during  the  night. 
In  some  places  it  is  called  the  Indian  Hen  ;  on  the  sea- 
coast  of  E^ew  Jersey  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  durika- 
doo,  Si  word  probably  imitative  of  its  common  note. 
They  are  also  found  in  the  interior,  having  myself  killed 
one  at  the  inlet  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  in  October.  It 
utters  at  times,  a  hollow,  guttural  note  among  the  reeds, 
but  has  nothing  of  that  loud,  booming  sound  for  which 
the  European  Bittern  is  so  remarkable.  This  circum- 
stance, with  its  great  inferiority  of  size,  and  difference  of 


THE  BITTEKN.  271 

marking,  sufficiently  prove  them  to  be  two  distinct 
species,  although  hitherto,  the  present  has  been  classed 
as  a  mere  variety  of  the  European  Bittern.^  These  birds, 
we  are  informed,  visit  Severn  river  at  Hudson's  Bay, 
about  the  beginning  of  June;  make  tlieir  nests  in 
swamps,  laying  four  cinereous  green  eggs  among  the 
long  grass.    The  young  are  said  to  be,  at  first,  black. 

"  These  birds,  when  disturbed,  rise  with  a  hollow  Icwa^ 
and  are  then  easily  shot  down  as  they  fly  heavily.  Like 
other  night  birds,  their  sight  is  most  acute  during  the 
evening  twilight;  but  their  hearing  is,  at  all  times, 
exquisite. 

"  The  American  Bittern  is  twenty-seven  inches  long, 
and  three  feet  four  inches  in  extent ;  from  the  point  of 
the  bill  to  the  extremity  of  the  toes,  it  measures  three 
feet ;  the  bill  is  four  inches  long  ;  the  upper  mandible 
black  ;  the  lower  greenish-yellow ;  lares  and  eyelids,  yel- 
low ;  irides,  bright  yellow ;  upper  part  of  the  head,  flat,  and 
remarkably  depressed;  the  plumage  there  is  of  a  deep 
.blackish  brown,  long  behind  and  on  the  neck,  the  general 
color  of  which  is  a  yellowish  brown,  shaded  with  darker ; 
this  long  plumage  of  the  neck  the  bird  can  throw  forward 
at  will,  when  irritated,  so  as  to  give  him  a  more  formi- 
dable appearance ;  throat,  whitish,  streaked  with  deep 
brown  :  from  the  posterior  and  lower  part  of  the  auricu- 
lars,  a  broad  patch  of  deep  black  passes  diagonally  across 
"the  neck,  a  distinguished  characteristic  of  this  species  ; 
the  back  is  deep  brown,  barred,  and  mottled  with  innu- 


272  A^rERICAN   GAME.  ' 

merable  specks  and  streaks  of  brownisli  yellow ;  quills, 
black,  with  a  leaden  gloss,  and  tipped  with  yellowish 
brown ;  legs  and  feet,  yellow,  tinged  with  pale  green  ; 
middle  claw,  pectinated ;  belly,  light  yellowish  brown, 
streaked  with  darker ;  vent,'*plain ;  thighs,  sprinkled  on 
the  outside  with  grains  of  dark  brown ;  male  and  female 
nearly  alike,  the  latter  somewhat  less.  According  to 
Eewick,  the  tail  of  the  European  Bittern  contains  only  ten 
feathers  ;  the  American  species  has,  invariably,  twelve. 
The  intestines  measured  five  feet  six  inches  in  length, 
and  were  very  little  thicker  than  a  common  knitting- 
needle  ;  the  stomach  is  usually  filled  with  fish  or  frogs.* 

"  This  bird,  when  fat,  is  considered  by  many  to  be 
excellent  eating." 

It  is  on  the  strength  of  Mr.  Wilson's  statement  as 
above  that  I  have  given  among  the  vulgar  appellations 
of  this  beautiful  bird  that  oi  Duiikadoo  ',  though  I  must 
admit  that  I  never  heard  him  called  a  Dunkadoo^  either 
on  the  sea-coast  of  ]S"ew  Jersey  or  any  where  else  ;  and 
further  must  put  it  on  record,  that  if  the  sea-coasters  of 
l!^ew  Jersey  did  coin  the  said  melodious  word  as  imita- 
tive of  its  common  note^  they  proved  much  worse  imita- 
tors than  I  have  found  tliem  in  whistling  bay  snipe, 
hawnking  Canada  geese,  or  yelping  Brant.  They  might 
just  as  well  have  called  him  a  Cockatoo,  while  they  were 
about  it. 

*  I  have  taken  an  entire  water-rail  from  the  stomach  of  the  Eurcpeaii 
Bittern.— Ed. 


THE   BITTEEN.  273 

The  other  name,  Quawh,  by  which  it  is  generally 
known  both  on  the  sea-coast  of  New  Jersey,  and  every 
where  else  where  the  vernacular  of  America  prevails,  is 
precisely  imitative  of  the  harsh  clanging  cry  witli  which 
he  rises  from  the  reeds  in  which  he  lurks  during  the  day 
time,  and  which  he  utters 'while  disporting  himself  in 
queer  clumsy  gyralions  in  mid  air,  over  the  twilight 
marshes  in  the  dusk  of  summer  evenings;  and  how  near- 
ly QuawTc  approaches  to  Dunkadoo^  tliat  one  of  my 
readers  who  is  the  least  appreciative  of  the  comparative 
value  of  sweet  sounds,  can  judge  as  well  as  I  can. 

In  England  the  Bittern,  who  there  is  possessed  of  a 
voice  between  the  sounds  of  a  bassoon  and  a  kettle-drum, 
with  which  he  makes  a  most  extraordinary  booming 
noise,  which  can  be  heard  for  milies,  if  not  for  leagues, 
over  the  midnight  marshes,  a  noise  the  most  melancholy 
and  unearthly  that  ever  shot  superstitious  horror  into 
the  bosom  of  the  belated  wayfarer,  who  is  unconscious 
of  its  cause,  has  also  been  designated  by  the  country 
people  from  his  cry,  "  the  bog-bumper,"  and  the  "  blut- 
tery  bump" — but  as  our  bird — the  United  States^/*,  I 
mean,  or  Alleghanian,  as  the  l^ew  York  Historical  So- 
ciety Associates  would  designate  their  countrymen — 
Bittern  never  either  booms,  blutters  or  bumps,  but  only 
quawks ;  a  quawk  only  he  must  be  content  to  remain, 
whether  with  the  sea-coasters  of  New  Jersey,  the  south- 
eiders  of  Long  Island,  or  my  friends,  the  Ojibwas  of 
Lake  Huron. 

12* 


276  AMEKICAN    GAME. 

the  marslies,  and  tliei*e  lays  its  eggs  and  rears  its  black 
downy  young ;  but  several  years  ago,  while  residing  at 
Eangor,  in  Maine,  while  on  a  visit  to  a  neighboring 
heronry,  situated  on  an  island  covered  with  a  dense 
forest  of  tall  pines  and  hemlocks,  I  observed  a  pair  of 
Bitterns  flying  to  and  fro,  from  the  tree-tops  to  the  river 
and  back,  with  fish  in  their  bills,  among  the  herons 
which  were  similarly  engaged  in  the  same  interesting 
occupation  of  feeding  their  young.  One  of  these,  the 
male  bird,  I  shot,  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  fact, 
and  we  afterward  harried  the  nest,  and  obtained  two 
full-grown  young  birds,  almost  ready  to  fly. 

Hence,  I  presume,  that,  like  •  many  other  varieties  of 
birds,  the  Bittern  adapts  his  habits,  even  of  nidification, 
to  the  purposes  of  the  case,  and  that  where  no  trees  are 
to  be  found,  in  which  he  can  breed,  he  makes  the  best  he 
can  of  it,  and  builds  on  the  ground  ;  but  it  is  my  opinion 
that  his  more  usual  and  preferred  situation  for  his  nest  is 
in  high  trees,  as  is  the  case  with  his  congeners,  the  Green 
Bittern,  the  blue  heron,  the  beautiful  white  egret,  the 
night  heron,  which  may  be  all  found  breeding  together 
in  hundreds  among  the  red  cedars  on  the  sea  beach  of 
Cape  May.  The  nest,  which  I  found  in  Maine,  was 
built  of  sticks,  precisely  similar  to  that  of  the  herons. 

The  Bittern  is  a  more  nocturnal  bird  than  the  heron, 
and  is  never  seen,  like  him,  standing  motionless  as  a  gray 
stone,  with  his  long  slender  neck  recurved,  his  javelin- 


THE   BITTERN.  277 

like  bill  poised  for  the  stroke,  and  his  keen  eye  piercing 
the  transparent  water  in  search  of  the  passing  fry. 

All  day  he  rambles  about  among  the  tall  grass  and 
reeds  of  the  marshes,  sometimes  pouncing  on  an  unfor- 
tunate frog,  a  garter-snake,  or  a  mouse,  for,  like  the  blue 
heron,  he  is  a  clever  and  indefatigable  mouser;  but 
when  the  evening  comes,  he  bestirs  himself,  spreads  his 
broad  vans,  rises  in  air,  summoning  up  his  comrades  by 
his  hoarse  clang,  and  wings  his  way  over  tlie  dim 
morasses,  to  the  banks  of  some  neighboring  rivulet  or 
pool,  where  he  watches,  erect  sentinel,  for  the  passing 
fish,  shiners,  small  eels,  or  any  of  the  lesser  tribes  of  the 
cyprinidse,  and  whom  he  detects,  woe  betide ;  for  the 
stroke  of  his  sharp-pointed  bill,  dealt  with  Parthian 
velocity  and  certitude  by  the  long  arrowy  neck,  is  sure 
death  to  the  unfortunate. 

Mr.  Giraud,  in  his  excellent  book  on  the  birds  of  Long 
Island,  thus  speaks  of  the  American  Bittern,  and  that  so 
truthfully  and  agreeably  withal,  that  I  make  no  apology 
for  quoting  his  words  at  length. 

"  This  species  is  said  to  have  been  the  favorite  bird  of 
the  Indians,  and  at  this  day  is  known  to  many  persons 
by  the  name  of  "  Indian  Hen,"  or  "  Pullet,"  though 
more  familiarly  by  the  appellation  of  "  Look-up,"  so 
called  from  its  habit,  when  standing  on  the  marshes  of 
elevating  its  head,  which  position,  though  probably 
adopted  as  a  precautionary  measure,  frequently  leads  to 
its  destruction.    The  gunners   seem  to  have  a  strong 


274  AMERICAN   GAME. 

In  another  respect  I  cannot  precisely  agree  witli  the 
acute  and  observing  naturalist  quoted  above,  as  to  its 
ungregarious  nature,  since  on  more  occasions  than  one 
I  have  seen  these  birds  together  in  such  numbers,  and 
under  such  circumstances  of  association,  as  would  cer- 
tainly justify  the  application  "to  them  of  the  vford  Jloch 

One  of  these  occasions  I  remember  well,  as  it  occurred 
while  snipe-shootiug  on  the  fine  marshes  about  the 
riviere  aux  Canards  in  Canada  West,  when  several 
times  I  saw  as  many  as  five  or  six  flush  together  from 
out  of  the  high  reeds,  as  if  in  coveys  ;  and  this  was  late 
in  September,  so  that  they  could  not  well  have  been 
young  broods  still  under  the  parental  care. 

At  another  time  I  ^aw  them  in  yet  greater  numbers 
and  acting  together,  as  it  appeared,  in  a  sort  of  concert. 
I  was  walking,  I  cannot  now  recollect  why,  or  to  what 
end,  along  the  marshes  on  the  bank  of  the  Hackensack 
river,  between  the  railroad  bridge  and  that  very  singular 
knoll  named  Snakehill,  which  rises  abruptly  out  of  the 
meadows  like  an  island  out  of  the  ocean.  It  was  late  in 
the  summer  evening,  the  sun  had  gone  quite  down,  and 
a  thick  gray  mist  covered  the  broad  and  gloomy  river. 
On  a  sudden,  I  was  almost  startled  by  a  loud  quawk 
close  above  my  head ;  and,  on  looking  up,  observed  a 
large  Bittern  wheeling  round  and  round,  now  soaring 
up  a  hundred  feet  or  more,  and  then  suddenly  diving,  or 
to  speak  more  accurately, /bZZ^Tz^,  plump  down,  with  his 
legs  and  wings  all  relaxed  and  abroad,  precisely  as  if  he 


THE  BITTERN.  275 

had  been  shot  dead,  uttering  at  the  moment  of  each 
dive"  a  loud  quawk.  While  I  was  still  engaged  in 
watching  his  manoeuvres,  he  was  answered,  and  a 
second  Bittern  came  floating  through  the  darksome  air, 
and  joined  his  companion.  Another  and  another  fol- 
lowed, and  within  ten  or  twelve  minutes,  there  must 
have  been  from  fifteen  to  twenty  of  these  large  birds  all 
gamboling  and  disporting  themselves  together,  circling 
round  one  another  in  their  gyratory  flight,  and  making 
the  night  any  thing,  certainly,  but  melodious  by  their 
clamors.  What  was  the  meaning  of  those  strange  noc- 
turnal movements  I  cannot  so  much  as  guess  ;  it  was  not 
early  enough  in  the  spring  to  be  connected  in  any  way 
with  the  amatory  propensities  of  the  birds,  or  I  should 
have  certainly  set  it  down,  like  the  peculiar  flight,  the 
unusual  chatter,  and  the  drumming,  performed  with 
the  quill-feathers,  of  the  American.  Snipe — Scolojyax 
Wilsonii — commonly  known  as  the  English  snipe,  dur- 
ing the  breeding  season,  as  a  preliminary  to  incubation, 
nidification,  and  the  reproduction  of  the  species — in  a 
word,  as  a  sort  of  bird  courtship.  The  season  of  the 
year  put  a  stopper  on  that  interpretation,  and  I  can  con- 
ceive none  other  than  that  the  QuawTcs  were  indulging 
themselves  in  an  innocent  game  of  romps,  preparatory 
to  the  more  serious  and  solemn  enjoyment  of  a  flsh  and 
frog  supper. 

The  Bittern,  it  appears,  on  the  Severn  river,  emptying 
into  Hudson's  Bay,  makes  its  nest  in  the  long  grass  of 


278  AMERICAN   GAME. 

prejudice  against  this  unoffending  bird,  and  whenever 
opportunity  offers,  seldom  allow  it  to  escape.  It  does 
not  move  about  much  by  day,  though  it  is  not  strictly 
nocturnal,  but  is  sometimes,  seen  flying  low  over  the 
meadow,  in  pursuit  of  short-tailed  or  meadow-mice, 
which  I  have  taken  whole  from  its  stomach.  It  also 
feeds  on  fish,  frogs,  lizards,  etc. ;  and  late  in  the  season, 
its  flesh  is  in  high  esteem — ^but  it  cannot  be  procured  in 
any  number  except  when  the  marshes  are  overflowed  by 
unusually  high  tides,  when  it  is  hunted  much  after  the 
manner  the  gunners  adopt  when  in  pursuit  of  rail.  On 
ordinary  occasions,  it  is  difficult  to  flush ;  the  instant 
it  becomes  aware  that  it  has  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  fowler,  it  lowers  its  head  and  runs  quickly  through 
the  grass,  and  when. again  seen,  is  usually  in  a  different 
direction  from  that  taken  by  its  pursuer,  whose  move- 
ments it  closely  watches ;  and  when  thus  pursued, 
seldom  exposes  more  than  the  head,  leading  the  gunner 
over  the  marsh  without  giving  him  an  opportunity  to 
accomplish  his  purpose. 

"When  wounded,  it  makes  a  vigorous  resistance, 
erects  the  feathers  on  the  head  and  neck,  extends  its 
wings,  opens  its  bill,  and  assumes  a  fierce  expression — 
will  attack  the  dog,  and  even  its  master,  and  when 
defending  itself,  directs  its  acute  bill  at  its  assailant's 
eye.  It  does  not  usually  associate  with  other  herons, 
nor  does  it  seem  fond  of  the  society  of  its  own  species. 


THE  BITTERN.        '  279 

Singly  or  in  pairs  it  is  distributed  over  tte  marshes,  but 
with  us  it  is  not  abundant." 

The  geographical  range  of  this  bird  is,  as  I  have 
before  stated,  very  extensive,  extending  from  the  shores 
of  Hudson's  Bay,  in  the  extreme  north,  so  far  south  at 
least  as  to  the  Cape  of  Florida,  and  probably  yet  farther 
down  the  coasts  of  the  Mexican  gulfs. 

Tliat  fanciful  blockhead,  the  Count  de  Buffon — for  ho 
was  a  most  almighty  blockhead  when  he  set  himself 
drawing  on  his  imagination  for  facts — with  his  usual 
eloquent  absurdity,  describes  the  species  as  "  exhibiting 
the  picture  of  wretchedness,  anxiety  and  indigence ; 
condemned  to  struggle  perpetually  with  misery  and 
want ;  sickened  with  the  restless  cravings  of  a  famished 
appetite  ;"  a  description  so  ridiculously  untrue,  that  were 
it  possible  for  these  birds  to  comprehend  it,  it  would 
excite  the  risibility  of  the  whole  tribe. 

If  the  count  had  seen  the  Quawks,  as  I  did,  at  their 
high  jinks,  by  the  Hackensack,  he  would  have  scarce 
written  such  folly ;  and  had  he  been  a  little  more  of  a 
true  philosopher,  and  thorough  naturalist,  he  would  have 
comprehended  that  whatsoever  being  the  Universal 
Creator  hath  created  unto  any  end — to  that  end  he 
adapted  him,  not  in  his  physical  structure  only,  but  in 
his  instincts,  his  appetites,  his  tastes,  his  pleasures  and 
his  pains  ;  and  that  to  the  patient  Bittern,  motionless  on 
his  mud-bank,  that  watch  is  as  charming,  as  is  the  swift 
pursuit  of  the  small  bird  to  the  falcon,  of  the  rabbit  to 


280  AMERICAN   GAME. 

the  fox,  of  the  hare  to  the  greyhound,  of  all  the  animals 
devoured  to  all  the  devourers  ;  and  that  his  frog  diet  is 
as  dear  to  Ardea  Lentiginosa,  as  his  flower  dew  to  the 
humming-bird,  or  his  canvas^acks,  in  the  tea-room,  to 
an  alderman  of  Manhattan. 

As  for  the  Bittern  starving,  eat  a  fat  one  in  a  pie,  and 
you'll  be  a  better  judge  of  that  probability,  than  any 
Buffon  ever  bred  in  France  ;  and  as  for  all  the  rest — it 
is  just  French  humbug. 

At  another  opportunity,  I  may  speak  of  others  of  this 
interesting  tribe.  Sportsmen  rarely  go  out  especially  to 
hunt  them,  except  in  boats,  as  described  by  Mr.  Giraud, 
but  in  snipe  and  duck-shooting  in  the  marshes  they  are 
constantly  flushed  and  shot. 

Pointers  and  setters  will  both  stand  them  steadily,  and 
cocking  spaniels  chase  them  with  ardor.  Their  flight  is 
slow  and  heavy,  and  their  tardy  movements  and  large 
size  render  them  an  easy  mark  even  to  a  novice.  They 
are  not  a  hardy  bird,  as  to  the  bearing  ofi"  shot ;  for  the 
loose  texture  of  their  feathers  is  more  than  ordinarily 
penetrable,  and  a  light  charge  of  Xo.  8,  will  usually 
bring  them  down  with  certainty. 

When  wing-tipped  they  fight  fiercely,  striking  with 
their  long  beaks  at  the  eyes  of  the  assailant,  whether 
dog  or  man,  and  laying  aside  resistance  only  with  their 
lives. 

Early  in  the  autumn  is  the  best  time  both  for  shooting 
him  and  eating  him,  and  for  the  latter  purpose  he  is 


THE  BITTERN.  281 

better  than  for  the  former ;  but  for  the  noble  art  of  fal- 
conry, the  mystery  of  rivers,  he  is  the  best  of  all. 
Avium  facile  princeps  /  easily  the  Topsawyer  of  the 
"Birds  of  flight,  unless  it  be  his  cousin  german  heronshaw, 
whom  the  princely  Dane  knew  from  a  hawk,  when  tho 
wind  was  nor-nor-west. 


XL 
NOVEMBER. 


%\t  'gnU  irause. 

Uetrao  UnibeUvs. 

THE  PHEASANT  ;    THE  PAETEIDGE. 

LABRADOR;    BRITISH  POSSESSIONS;    UNITED    STATES. 


Perca  Flavesdua. 
CONTINENT    OF    NORTH    AMERICA. 


THE  RUFFED  GROUSE. 

Tetrao  Umbellus. 

The  beautiful  bird  winch  is  depicted  above,  is  that 
known  as  the  Partridge,  in  New  Jersey,  and  all  the 
States  east  and  north  of  the  Delaware,  and  as  the  Pheas- 
ant everywhere  to  the  westward  of  that  fine  stream  ;  and 
by  these  provincial  vulgarisms  it  is  like  to  be  known 
and  designated,  until  sportsmen  will  take  the  trouble  of 
acg^uiring  a  little  knowledge  of  their  own  trade,  and  will 
cease  to  regard  naturalists  as  mere  theorizing  bookmen, 
and  scientific  names  and  distinctions  as  supererogatory 
humbug.  The  distinction  between  the  Grouse  and  other 
birds  of  the  gallinaceous  order,  is  that  the  former  are 
invariably,  the  latter  never^  feathered  below  the  knee. 
Tliis  distinction  never  fails,  and  is  very  easily  noted ; 
although,  in  difierent  species  of  the  genus,  the  extent  of 
the  feathering  difiers.  In  the  Ruffed  Grouse  the  soft 
fleecy  feathering  of  the  leg  is  sparse,  and  descends  only 
to  the  middle  of  the  shank.  In  the  Pinnated  Grouse, 
Prairie  Hen  of  the  West,  and  Grouse  of  Pennsylvania, 
ITew  Jersey,  and  Rhode  Island,  the  legs  are  feathered 


286  '         AMERICAN   GAME. 

tlie  wliole  way  down  the- shank,  to  the  insertion  of  the 
toes  ;  and^the  same  is  the  case  of  the  Canada  Grouse,  or 
Spruce  Partridge  of  Ihe  remote  Eastern  States.  In  all 
those  species  of  Grouse,  which  are  known  as  Ptarmigan, 
dwellers  of  the  extreme  north,  or  in  the  northern  tem- 
perature of  iced  mountain-tops,  the  feathering  continues 
the  whole  length  of  the  toes  quite  to  the  insertion  of  the 
claws — ^this  I  merely  mention  ^^(^t'  jparenthese^  as  there  is 
but  one  of  the  Ptarmigans  likely  to  fall  within  reach  of 
the  sportsman ;  namely,  the  "Willow  Grouse,  or  Eed- 
;Necked  Partridge  of  the  extreme  parts  of  Maine,  and 
the  Easternmost  British  provinces,  and  thence  so  far  as 
to  the  Arctic  Circle. 

These  distinctions  are  easily  borne  in  mind,  and  will 
be  found"  all-sufficient  to  the  discriminating  woodsman, 
who  desires  to  be  able  to  call  things  by  their  right  names, 
and  to  give  a  reason  for  doing  so. 

The  true  Pheasant  is  a  native  of  Asia  originally, 
though  it  has  been  naturalized  in  Europe,  since  a  very 
early  period,  and  is  now  abundant  in  France  and  Eng- 
land. JSTo  species  of  this  bird,  which  is  distinguished  by 
a  pointed  tail  above  half  a  yard  in  length,  and  by  its 
splendidly  gorgeous  coloring,  little  inferior  in  intensity 
to  that  of  the  Peacock,  has  ever  been  found,  or  is 
believed  to  exist  in  any  portion  of  the  Western  hemis- 
phere ;  although  those  singular  and  showy  birds,  the 
Cv/ragoas  of  South  America,  have  some  relation  to  it. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  real  Partridge  ;  although  the 


THE  BUFFED   GEOrSE.  287 

Quail  of  this  continent  would  seem  to  be  its  equivalent ; 
being  as  it  were  a  connecting  link  between  the  European 
Quail,  and  the  Partridge  of  Europe. 

The  Kuffed  Grouse  ranges  over  a  very  wide  portion  of 
the  United  States  and  British  provinces,  from  the  51st 
degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  Atlantic  sea-board, 
although  it  is  much  more  scarce  in  the  Southern  States 
than  in  the  midland  and  northern  regions.  It  is  remark- 
able also  that  it  varies  exceedingly  in  color ;  those  to  the 
northward  being  comparatively  dull  and  gray,  to  those 
of  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  and  more  genial  regions. 

The  distinctive  feature,  whence  this  bird  derives  his 
title  of  Ruffed  Grouse,  is  the  tuft  or  tippet  of  jet-black 
feathers,  glossed  with  metallic  hues,  which  are  shown 
more  or  less  distinctly  in  each  of  the  figures  in  the 
wood-cut  at  the  head  of  this  paper,  but  the  most  decided- 
ly in  the  cock-bird,  represented  as  standing  on  a  fallen 
log,  in  the  act  of  drumming,  with  these  ruffs  elevated, 
and  his  tail  erected  and  expanded  after  the  manner  of  a 
Turkey  or  Peacock,  in  the  season  of  his  amorous  phan- 
tasies. 

This  drumming,  a  sound  sufficiently  familiar  to  all 
ears  accustomed  to  the  sights  and  noises  of  the  forest,  is 
no  less  than  the  call  of  the  male  bird  to  his  harem  of 
attendant  wives ;  for  the  Euffed  Grouse,  unlike  our 
pretty,  constant,  and  domestic  Quail,  selects  himself  no 
one  fond  partner,  whom  to  cheer  with  his  loved  notes,  to 
comfort  and  amuse  during  the  breeding  season,  but 


288  AMERICAN   GAME. 

rejoices  like  a  veritable  grand  Signor  in  a  multiplicity  of 
fair  sultanas,  whom  so  soon  as  tliej  betake  themselves  to 
the  cares  of  maternity,  he  abandons,  like  a  roue  as  he  is, 
and  passes  tlie  remainder  of  the  season,  until  the  broods 
disperse  in  the  autumn,  in  company  with  small  packs  of 
his  own  faithless  sex,  reveling  and  enjoying  himself  on 
the  mountain  sides,  in  his  loved  pines  and  hemlocks, 
while  his  forgotten  loves  brood  patient  over  the  hopes  of 
the.  coming  season. 

"  This  drumming,"  says  Wilson,  in  his  eloquent  and 
animated  page,  "  is  most  common  in  spring,  and  is  the 
call  of  the  cock  to  a  favorite  female.  It  is  produced  in 
the' following  manner  :  the  bird,  standing  on  an  old  pros- 
trate log,  generally  in  a  retired  situation,  lowers  his 
wings,  erects  his  expanded  tail,  contracts  his  .throat, 
elevates  the  two  tufts  of  feathers  on  the  neck,  and 
inflates  his  whole  body  something  in  the  manner  of  a 
Turkey  cock  strutting  and  wheeling  about  in  great  state- 
liness.  After  a  few  manoeuvres  of  this  kind,  he  begins 
to  strike  his  stiffened  wings  in  short  and  quick  strokes, 
which  become  more  and  more  rapid  until  they  run  into 
each  other,  resembling  the  rumbling  sound  of  very 
distant  thunder  dying  away  gradually  on  the  ear.  After 
a  few  minutes'  pause,  this  is  again  repeated,  and  in  a 
calm  day  may  be  heard  nearly  a  mile  off.  Tliis  is  most 
common  in  the  morning  and  evening,  though^  I  have 
heard  them  drumming  at  all  hours  of  the  day." 

It  is  singular,  that  so  exact  an  authority  a.s  "Wilson 


TnE  KurrED  geouse.  289 

has  proved  himself  to  be,  should-  fall  into  the  strange 
error  of  speaking  of  this  singular  p,morous  sound  as  a 
call  to  a  single  female  ;  and  elsewhere  of  the  Pheasant^ 
as  he  erroneously  calls  it,  pairing ;  when  it  is  notorious 
to  all  who  have  closely  observed  the  habitfe  of  this  bird, 
that  it  is  polygamous.  Such,  I  believe,  will  be  found 
the  case  with  all  those  gallinaceous  birds  which  have  an 
especial  summons,  or  peculiar  display  of  attitudes,  airs, 
and  splendors  by  which  to  attract  the  females  ;  as  may 
be  observed  of  the  common  Game-cock,  the  Turkey,  the 
Peacock,  and  the  European  Pheasant ;  no  one  of  which 
takes  to  himself  an  especial  and  chosen  partner,  but 
disports  himself  in  his  wanton  seraglio. 

On  many  occasions,  during  this  particular  season, 
I  have  stolen  up  to  wdthin  a  few  yards  of  the  log, 
whereon  the  Buffed  Grouse  was  so  busily  employed  in 
summoning  his  dames  and  demoiselles  around  him,  that 
he  had  no  ears  or  eyes  for  my  approach,  which  at  any 
other  period  he  would  have  discovered  long  before,  and 
whirred  away  tumultuous  on  terrified  and  sounding 
pinions.  I  have  lain  concealed,  for  an  hour  at  a  time, 
watching  with  intense  gratification  the  beautifiil  and 
animated  gestures  of  the  cock,  now  strutting  and  drum- 
ming on  his  log,  proud  as  an  eastern  despot,  now 
descending  to  caress  and  dally  with  his  numerous  Roxa- 
lanas,  and  then  reascending  to  his  post  of  pride,  to  send 
his  resonant  call  far  through  the  haunted  echoes  of  the 
umbrageous  pine-woods.  On  one  such  chance,  I  saw  no 
13  '  i 


290  AMEBIC  AN   GAME. 

less  than  seven  lien  birds  gathered  around  a  single  male, 
all  in  turn  expectant  of  his  looked-for  attentions,  and  all 
gratified  by  a  share  of  his  notice.  If  this  be  not 
Polygamy,  I  should  like  to  receive  the  Grand  Turk's 
opinion  on  the  subject,  as  I  confess  myself,  if  it  be  any 
thing  less,  in  a  state  of  absolute  benightedness. 

The  Kufied  Grouse  begins  her  nest  very  early  in  May, 
and  lays  from  eight  to  fifteen  brownish-white,  unspotted 
eggs,  nearly  the  size  of  those  of  a  pullet.  With  the 
exact  period  of  this  bird's  incubation  I  am  not  acquaint- 
ed ;  the  young  birds  run  the  instant  they  clip  the  shell ; 
obey  the  cluck  of  the  mother,  as  chickens  that  of  the 
hen ;  and  are  tended  by  her  with  extreme  care  and 
solicitude.  In  case  of  her  being  surprised  with  her 
young  about  her,  she  resorts  to  all  the  artifices  practiced 
by  the  Quail,  and  even  by  the  comparatively  dull  and 
stolid  Woodcock,  to  draw  away  the  intruder  from  tlie 
vicinity,  feigning  lameness,  and  incapacity  to  fly,  until 
she  shall  have  lured  away  the  pursuer  far  from  the 
hiding-place  of  her  fledglings.  Then  she  shall  whirr 
away  on  resonant  and  powerful  pinions,  up,  up  above 
the  tops  of  the  tall  pines  and  hemlocks,  and  thence  skate 
homeward  noiseless  on  balanced  wings,  where  she  will 
find  them  close  ensconced  among  the  sheltering  fern 
tufts,  or  the  matted  winter-greens  and  whortleberry 
bushes,  viewless  to  the  most  prying  eye,  and  undiscover- 
able,  save  to  the  nose  of  the  unerring  spaniel.  But 
once  returned,  you  shall  see  them  emerge,   chirping 


THE   EUFFED   GKOUSE.  291 

feebly  at  the  soft  maternal  cluck,  and  hurrying  to 
enshroud  them  under  the  shelter  of  her  guardian  wing, 
and  nestle,  happy  younglings,  among  the  downy  plumage 
of  her  maternal  breast.  Curses  upon  the  sacrilegious 
hand  that  would  interrupt  that  sweet  and  tender  scene 
by  the  sharp  click  of  the  murderous  trigger ;  yet  there 
be  brutes,  in  the  guise  of  men,  who  scruple  not  to 
butcher  the  drumming  cock,  taken  at  fatal  disadvantage, 
amid  his  admiring  harem  ;  scruple  not  to  slaughter  the 
brooding  mother  above  her  miserable  younglings — but 
to  such  we  cry  avaunt !  to  such  we  deny  the  name  of 
sportsmen,  nay,  but  of  Christians,  or  of  men.  Get  ye 
behind  us,  murderous  pot-hunters  ! 

The  young  broods  grow  rapidly  ;  and  by  the  time  they 
have  reached  the  size  of  the  Quail,  fly  well  and  strongly 
on  the  wing.  By  the  middle,  or  latter  end  of  August, 
they  are  three  parts  grown,  and  fully  feathered,  with  the 
exception  of  the  tail,  which  is  not  yet  complete,  and 
retains  a  pointed  form.  The  blundering  legislation  of 
this  country  in  general,  on  the  subject  of  the  game-laws, 
has,  in  this  instance,  to  my  ideas,  exceeded  itself;  for 
during  the  months  of  September  and  October,  when  the 
broods  are  still  united  under  the  care  of  the  mother,  the 
birds  lying  well  to  the  setter,  and  when  flushed  scatter- 
ing themselves  singly  here  and  there  among  low  under- 
growth or  bushes,  and  rarely  or  never  taking  to  the  tree, 
we  are  prohibited  from  shooting  this  bold,  hardy,  ramb- 
ling, and  shy  bird ;  this,  at  a  later  season,  wild  hunter 


292  AMERICAN   GAME. 

of  inaccessible  rock-ledges,  impenetrable  rlioclodendron 
brakes,  and  deep  sequestered  hemlock-swamps  ;  tliis,  tbe 
most  uncomatalDle  and  self-protecting  bird  of  all  the  vari- 
eties of  American  game ;  the  only  variety,  perhaps, 
which  never  can  by  any  means,  fair  or  unfair,  be  exter- 
minated from  among  us,  so  long  as  the  rock-ribbed 
mountains  tower  toward  the  skies,  and  the  forests  clothe 
them  with  foliage  never  sere. 

'  At  this  period  they  would  afford  rare  sport,  as  at  all 
other  seasons  they  afford  none ;  and  are,  moreover,  in  far 
the  best  condition  for  the  table,  as  the  old  birds  are  apt 
to  be  dry,  unless  hung  up  for  several  weeks  before  being 
cooked,  which  can,  of  course,  only  be  done  in  winter, 
when  the  coldness  of  the  weather  prevents  their  becom- 
ing tainted,  without  absolutely  freezing  them. 

In  my  opinion,  therefore,  this  the  only  bird,  of  Ameri- 
c-an  game,  which  might  well  exist  apart  from  almost  all 
protection,  is  now  so  protected  as  to  be  almost  rendered 
impossible  to  the  gun  of  the  fair  sportsman ;  while  for 
others,  the  tamest,  the  most  easily  killed,  and  the  most 
rapidly  decreasing  of  all  our  winged  tribes,  as  the  Wood- 
cock, for  example,  the  mock  protection  afforded  to  them 
is  but  another  word  for  the  license  to  slaughter  them 
half-fledged  and  half-grown,  while  the  second  brood  is 
yet  in  the  black-down,  and  unable  to  exist  without  the 
parent's  care. 

I  would  myself  desire  to  see  the  legitimate  season  for 
Ruffed  Grouse-shooting  made  to  commence  with  the  first 


THE   KUFFED   GKOUSE.  293 

day  of  September,  tlie  young  birds  by  that  time,  and  in 
truth  much  earlier,  being  quite  fit  for  the  gun,  and  to 
cease  on  the  fifteenth  of  December,  or  at  Christmas  at 
the  latest,  before  the  snows  of  winter  admit  of  their 
being  snared  and  trapped  by  thousands. 

Toward  the  middle  of  October,  the  old  hens  drive  off 
the  broods,  or  the  young  birds  now  perfectly  mature, 
stray  from  them  of  their  own  accord ;  and  thenceforth 
tliey  are  found  sometimes  in  little  companies  of  two, 
three,  or  four,  but  far  more  often  singly,  in  wild,  difficult 
upland  woods,  through  which  they  love  to  ramble 
deviously  for  miles,  as  they  are  led  in  search  of  their 
favorite  food,  or  sometimes,  as  it  would  seem,  by  mere 
whim.  On  one  occasion,  many  years  since,  when  I  was 
but  a  young  sportsman  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  I 
remember  footing  a  small  party  of  five  birds,  in  a  light 
snow,  for  above  ten  miles  among  the  Wawayanda  moun- 
tains, in  -Orange  County,  New  York,  without  getting  up 
to  them ;  although  it  was  easily  seen  by  their  hurried 
and  agitated  tracks  that  for  a  great  part  of  the  distance 
they  were  within  hearing  of  me,  and  were  running  from 
my  pursuit.  I  had  no  dogs  with  me.  Had  I  been  out 
with  setters,  the  Grouse  would  have  trailed  them  for 
miles,  and  unquestionably  risen  at  last  out  of  shot. 
With  spaniels,  or  curs,  trained  to  run  in  upon  them,  and 
pursue,  yelping  loudly,  as  the  mode  is  in  the  backwoods, 
where  men  do  not  shoot  but  gun,,  they  would  have  taken 
to  the  trees,  and  would  have  sat  close  to  the  trunk  with 


294  AMEKICAIT   GAME. 

their  bodies  erect,  and  tlieir  necks  elongated,  and  might 
have  been  killed  easily,  the  only  difficulty  being  that  of 
perceiving  them,  a  difficulty  far  more  considerable  than 
would  be  imagined  to  an  unpracticed  eye.  To  shoot 
birds  sitting,  however,  whether  on  trees  or  on  the  ground, 
is  not  sport  for  a  sportsman ;  the  only  case  where  it  is 
ever  allowable^  is  to  the  woodsman  on  a  tramp  through 
the  primitive  and  boundless  forest,  where  his  camp- 
kettle  must  be  filled  by  the  contents  of  his  bag,  and 
where  to  throw  away  a  chance  is,  perhaps,  in  the  end  to 
go  supperless  to  bed.  In  such  a  case,  while  canoeing  it 
last  Autumn  "  with  a  goodly  companye"  up  the  northern 
rivers  that  debouch  into  lake  Huron,  we  shot  many, 
while  portaging  around  cataracts  or  rapids  on  the 
Severn ;  and  on  one  occasion  a  gentleman  of  the  party 
shot  three  birds,  out  of  one  small  pine  tree,  without  any 
of  them  moving  or  appearing  alarmed  at  the  gun-shots. 
This  has  often  been  related  as  a  constant  and  ordinary 
habit  of  the  bird.;  and  from  that  occurrence,  I  am 
induced  to  believe  that  when  the  bird  is  in  its  natural 
solitudes,  unacquainted  with  man  and  his  murderous 
weapons,  such  may  be  the  case ;  in  the  settlements, 
however  it  might  have  been  when  they  were  rare  and 
sparse,  this  is  the  habit  of  the  Ruffed  Grouse  no  longer. 
I  have  never  in  my  life,  save  in  the  instance  mentioned, 
observed  anything  of  the  kind  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  have 
ever  found  them  the  wildest,  the  most  wary,  and  unless, 


TUE   EUTFED   GROUSE.  295 

by  some  mere  chance,  the  least  approachable  of  all  wild 
birds. 

During  the  latter  autumn,  they  eschew  flat,  bushy 
tracts,  and  even  swamps  with  heavy  thickets,  their 
instinct  probably  telling  them  that  in  such  covert  they 
are  liable  to  be  taken  napping.  If,  however,  one  have 
the  fortune  to  find  them  in  such  tracts,  he  is  likely  to 
have  sport  over  setters  ;  and  in  no  other  sort  of  ground 
do  I  deem  that  possible,- as  the  law  now  stands.  Once, 
many  years  since,  sporting  in  the  heavy  thorn-brakes 
around  Pine  Brook,  in  New  Jersey,  I  found  them  with  a 
friend  in  low  underwood,  and  we  had  great  sport,  bag- 
ging eight  brace  of  Ruffed  Grouse  over  points,  in  addi- 
tion to  some  eighteen  or  twenty  brace  of  Quail. 

In  general,  however,  they  frequent  either  open  groves 
of  tall,  thrifty  timber,  with  a  carpet  of  wintergreens, 
cranberries  and  whortleberries,,  which  constitute  their 
favorite  food ;  or  the  steep  mountain-ledges,  under  the 
interlaced  branches  of  tall  evergreen  trees,  among  brakes 
of  mountain  rhododendron,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called, 
though  erroneously,  laurel.  In  both  these  species  of 
ground,  all  being  clear  below,  the  birds  can  hear  and  see 
the  sportsman  long  before  he  can  approach  them,  and 
take  wing,  for  the  most  part,  entirely  out  of  gun-shot 
range.  If,  however,  they  are  surprised  unawares,  they 
have  a  singular  tact  of  dodging  behind  the  first  bush, 
or  massive  trunk,  and  flying  oft"  in  a  right  line,  keep- 
ing the  obstacle  directly  between  the  sportsman  and 


296  AMEIilCAN   GAME, 

themselves,  so  as  to  frustrate  all  liis  efforts  to  obtain  a 
sliot ;  this  I  have  seen  done  so  often  as  to  satisfy  me 
that  it  is  the  result,  not  of  chance,  but  of  a  deliberate 
instinct. 

The  Ruffed  Grouse  rises,  at  first,  when  surprised,  with 
a  heavy  whirring  and  laborious  flutter,  and  if  taken  at; 
that  moment  within  range,  is  easily  shot ;  he  rises  for 
the  most  part  a  little  higher  than  the  head  of  a  tall  man, 
and  goes  away  swift  and  strong  nearly  in  a  horizontal 
line.  If  struck  behind,  he  will  carry  away  a  heavy  load 
of  shot,  and  he  has  a  trick  of  flying  until  his  breath 
leaves  him  in  the  air,  and  then  falls  dead  before  he 
strikes  the  ground.  Occasionally  he  towers  up  with  the 
wind,  and  then  setting  his  wings,  skates  down  before  it 
at  a  prodigious  r^ite,  without  moving  a  feather ;  and  if 
you  get  a  shot  at  him,  gentle  reader,  under  such  circum- 
stances, crossing  you  at  long  range,  be  sure  that  you 
shoot  two,  or,  by  'r  lady,  three  feet  ahead  of  him,  or  you 
may  cut  off  his  extreme  tail-feathers,  but  of  a  surety  kill 
him  you  shall  not. 

The  Euffed  Grouse  usually  flies  in  a  perfectly  right 
line,  so  that  if  you  flush  one  without  getting  a  shot,  and 
can  preserve  his  line  exactly,  you  may  find  him,  if  he 
have  not  treed,  which  it  is  ten  to  one  he  has  ;  wherefore 
I  advise  you  not  to  follow  him.  The  exception  to  this 
right  line  of  flight,  is  when  the  ground  is  broken  into 
ridges  with  parallel  ravines,  in  which  case  the  bird,  on 
crossing  a  ridge  at  right  angles,  will  rarely  cross  the 


THE   EUFFED   GROUSE.  297 

ravine  also,  but  will  dive  up  or  down,  as  the  covert  may 
invite. 

"When  birds  lie  in  narrow  ravines,  filled  witli  good 
covert,  by  throwing  the  guns  forward  on  the  brow  of  the 
ridges  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  dogs,  which  must- 
be  left  behind  with  a  person  to  hunt  and  restrain  them, 
and  letting  the  sportsmen  carefully  keep  that  distance  in 
advance,  going  very -gingerly  and  silently,  sport  may  be 
had ;  and  so  I  think  only — especially  over  slow,  mute, 
cocking  spaniels,  for  as  the  birds,  after  running  before 
the  dogs,  will  be  likely  to  take  wing  abreast  of,  or  per- 
haps even  behind  the  unexpected  shooter,  who  has  thus 
stolen  a  march  on  them,  and  as  they  rarely,  if  ever,  cross 
the  ridges,  but  fly  straight  along  the  gorge,  they  so 
afford  fair  shots. 

For  my  own  part,  I  do  not  consider  it  worth  the  while, 
as  the  law  now  stands,  to  go  out  in  pursuit  of  Eutfed 
Grouse  with  dogs,  where  you  expect  to  find  no  other 
species  of  game ;  for,  in  the  first  ]3lace,  they  ramble  so 
widely,  that  there  is  no  certainty  of  finding  them  within 
ten  miles  of  the  spot  where  you  may  have  seen  them 
daily  for  a  month  ;  and,  secondly,  if  you  do  find  them, 
there  is  no  certainty  of  having  sport  with  them,  but 
rather  a  probability  of  reverse.  As  an  adjunct  to  other 
kinds  of  shooting  they  are  excellent,  but  as  sole  objects 
of  pursuit,  I  think,  worthless.  I  have  often  blundered 
on  them  by  chance  while  hunting  for  other  game ;  but 


298 _  AMEKICAN   GAME. 

when  I  have  gone  out  expressly  in  pursuit  of  tliem,  I 
have  never  had  even  tolerable  sport. 

If  the  law  were  altered,  and  September  shooting  per- 
mitted, the  case  would  be  altered  also  ;  and  in  many 
regions  of  our  country,  as  the  Kaatskill  Mountains,  and 
some  parts  of  Columbia  and  Saratoga  counties,  in  !N"ew 
York  ;  the  Pocono  Mountains,  and  the  Blu«  Eidge,  gen- 
erally, in  Pennsylvania ;  and  jnany  districts  of  Maine, 
Massacliusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Ehode  Island,  rare  sport 
might  be  had.  For  September  shooting,  No.  8  shot  will 
be  found  sufficient ;  but  after  that,  I^o.  7  ;  and  very  late* 
in  the  season,  Eley's  wire  cartridges  will  be  found  the 
most  effective. 

This  widely  extended  bird  is  too  well  know  to  require 
any  peculiar  description  ;  and  I  shall  content  myself 
with  observing,  in  aid  of  my  porti-aiture  of  the  Ruffed 
Grouse,  that  the  upper  part  of  its  head  and  hind  neck 
are  reddish-brown,  the  back  rich  chestnut,  mottled  with 
heart-shaped  spots  of  white,  edged  with  black.  The  tail 
is  bright  reddish-yellow,  barred  and  speckled  with 
black,  and  bordered  by  a  broad,  black  belt  between  two 
narrow  white  bands,  one  at  the  extremity  of  the  tail. 
The  iris  of  the  eye  hazel,  bill  brown,  feet  brownish  gray. 
Loral  band  cream  color.  Throat  and  fore-neck,  brown- 
ish-yellow. TTpper  ruff-feathers  barred  with  brown. 
Wings  brownish-red,  streaked  with  black.  Breast  and 
abdomen  cream  colored,  closely  barred  above,  and  late- 
rally spotted  below,  with  dark  chocolate.     Length  18 


THEKUFFED   GKOUSE.  299 

inclies,  spread  of  wings  2  feet.  The  Hufted  Grouse  is  a 
capital  bird  on  the  table.  The  breast  white  meat,  back 
and  thighs  brown.  It  should  be  roasted  quickly,  eaten 
with  bread  sauce  and  fried  crumbs,  and  washed  down 
with  sherry  or  red  wine. 


THE  PERCH. 

'  The  Yellow  Perch ;  P^rca  flavescens. 

This  fine  fisli,  which  belongs  to  the  family  Percoidce^ 
of  the  division  AcantJiojpterygii^  or  thomy-finned,  is  the 
common  perch  of  the  waters  of  the  United  States; 
ranging  from  the  extreme  east  to  the  extreme  west  of 
the  continent;  from  the  streams  and  pools,  of  !Nova 
Scotia  and  ISTew  Brunswick,  to  the  feeders  of  Lake  Supe- 
rior  and  the  northern  tributaries  of  the  Canadian  lakes. 

To  the  northward,  it  is  iK)t  found  in  the  rivers  flowing 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean  or  Hudson's  Bay,  and  its  southern 
limit  is  ill-defined,  and  can  scarcely  be  ascertained,  ex- 
cept by  personal  inspection ;  since  the  denizens  of  the 
southern  waters  have  been  disfigured  by  appellations, 
local,  provincial,  and  most  unscientifical,  so  barbarous 
as  to  defy  the  most  intelligent  inquirer. 

The  title  of  the  division  Acanthopterygii^  or  thorny- 
firunedy  is  founded  on  the  |)rinciple  that  every  genus  and 
sub-genus  thereof  has  one  or  more  of  the  fins  supported 


THE    PLECH.  301 

OD,  or  preceded  by,  strong,  sharp  spines,  capable  of 
inflicting  a  severe  wound,  and  forming  a  very  efficient 
weapon  of  defense,  so  that  the  boldest  and  most  vora- 
cious of  fishes  rarely  venture  to  seize  them.  All  the 
genera  have  two  dorsal  fins — ^the  first,  or  foremost,  of 
which  is  invariably  supported  on  spines,  as  opposed  to 
soft  branched  rays  ;  while  the  second,  or  hindmost,  is  of 
soft  texture,  preceded  by  one  or  more  hard  spines — two 
pectoral  fins,  both  soft-rayed — one  ventral,  and  one  anal, 
each  of  which  is  often  preceded  by  one  or  more  spines 
— and  one  caudal,  or  tail  fin,  which  is  the  main  propell- 
ing power  of  the  animal.  On  the  number  of  the  hard 
spines  supplementary  to  tlie  soft  fins,  are  founded  the 
different  families ;  and  on  the  number  of  spines  in  the 
first  dorsal,  the  dental  system,  and  some  other  parts  of 
the  bony  structure,  the  lesser,  or  individual  distinctions. 
On  color,  as  distinctive  of  genera,  or  even  varieties, 
little  or  no  reliance  can  be  placed,  unless  confirmed  by 
distinct  variations  in  the  bony  formation ;  since  in  all 
fishes  there  is  observed  to  exist  a  great  range  of  hues, 
shades,  and  even  positive  colors,  arising  sometimes  from 
mere  casual  influences  operating  on  individual  speci- 
mens, sometimes  from  accidents  of  light  or  shade  affect- 
ing peculiar  situations,  and  most  frequently  of  all  fiom 
the  soil  and  character  of  the  feeding-grounds,  and  from 
the  various  mineral  or  earthy  substances  held  in  solution 
by  the  waters  they  frequent 

These  latter  influences  frequently  modify  the  same 


302  AMERICAN   GAME. 

fish  in  different  streams,  even  of  the  same  region  and 
neighborhood,  and  flowing  over  soils  apparently  identi- 
cal, to  such  an  extent,  that  the  casual  observer  not 
imnaturally  believes  them  to  be  distinct  varieties,  if  not 
species,  and  can  be  with  difficulty  convinced,  on  the  im- 
mutable evidences  of  structural  sameness. 

This  fact  has  led,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  compli- 
cating and  confounding  the  science  of  Natural  History, 
by  the  undue  multiplication  of  names,  species,  and 
genera,  where  no  specific  differences  exist ;  rendering 
the  science  infinitely  difficult  to  the  beginner,  and 
causing  the  unlearned  to  undervalue  the  lore  of  the  na- 
turalist, and  to  deny  the  reality  of  all  scientific  distinc- 
tions whatsoever. 

On  differences  of  structure,  such  as  the  situation  and 
texture  of  the  fins,  the  number  of  spines  or  soft  rays  in 
each,  the  form  of  the  gill  covers,  the  character  and 
position  of  the  teeth,  perfect  reliance  may  be  placed,  as 
indicating  unchangeable  specific  characteristics,  by  ob- 
servation of  which  the  educated  naturalist  will  name  at 
a  glance  the  species,  genus  and  sub-genus  of  any  fish, 
unseen  before ;  and  will  unerringly  determine  his  habits, 
his  food,  and  in  some  degree  his  habitation. 

Thus  of  the  Percoid  family  we  distinguish  the  sub- 
genera Perca,  perch  proper,  from  Gristes  and  Centrar- 
chus,  to  which  are  referred  the  types  black  basse  of  the 
lakes,  and  the  little  rock  basse  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
basin,  by  the  fact  that  the  Percce  have  one  spine  to  the 


THE   PEIiCH.  303 

ventrals  and  two  to  the  anal.  Tlie  Gristes  one  to  the 
ventrals  and  three  to  the  anal.  The  Centt'orchi  one  to 
the  Ventrals  and  six  to  the  anal. 

And  in  like  manner,  by  the  number  of  spines  support- 
ing the  first  dorsal,  we  are  enabled  to  pronounce  on  the 
truth  or  untrutlifulness  of  the  many  subdivisions  of  the 
perch  family,  as  predicated  by  the  fishermen  of  various 
regions,  and  insisted  on  by  credulous  naturalists,  such  as 
Dr.  Smith,  of  Massachusetts,  whose  book  is  rendered' 
absolutely  valueless  by  the  readiness  which  he  displays 
in  adopting  every  local  legend  concerning  new  varieties, 
and  classifying  new  species  ;  until,  if  we  believe  him  at 
all,  we  must  believe  that  every  several  stream  -end  pool 
from  Maine  to  Minnesota  has  its  own  distinct  variety  of 
perch  ;  nor  of  perch  only,  but  of  trout,  and,  more  or  less, 
of  every  finny  tenant  of  the  waters. 

The  truth  appears  to  have  been  at  length  firmly  es- 
tablished, and  to  be  this — that  there  is  but  one  clearly 
defined  and  distinct-  perch,  perca  flavescens^  the  yellow 
perch,  found  in  the  United  States — that  the  perca  flu- 
matilis^  common  river  perch  of  Europe,  does  not  exist 
at  all  in  American  waters,  though  it  is  so  closely  con- 
nected with  our  fish  that  a"  casual  observer  would  pro- 
nounce them  identical — that  the  supposed  subgenera  of 
perca  granulata,  or  rough-headed  perch,  perca  argentea^ 
silver  perch,  jperca  acuta^  or  sharp-nosed  perch,  and  perca 
gracilis,  said  to  be  peculiar  to  the  small  lakes  of  Ska- 
neateles,  in  the  interior  of  New  York,  are  not  sufficient- 


304:  AMERICAN   GAME. 

\j  made  out  as  permanent  varieties ;  and  that  tlie 
variations  of  color  from  dark,  green  and  greenish 
brown,  to. bright  yellow,  silvery,  and  something  nearly 
approaching  to.,  orange,  are  merely  local,  casual^  and 
individual  differences,  and  not  general,  permanent, 
specific  distinctions. 

The  following  luminous  description  of  this  game  and 
excellent  fish  is  borrowed  from  Dr.  Eichardson's  Tauror 
horeali-Americana^  or  natural  history  of  the  Northern 
Eegions  of  America,   including  parts   of   the   United 
States,  and  the  British  Provinces  as  far  north  as  to  the 
Arctic  Ocean.     The  specimen  from  which  it  was  com- 
piled was   caught   at  Penetanguishine,   on  the    great 
Georgian  bay  of  Lake  Huron,  but  will  answer  for  fish  of 
this  genus  taken  in  any  part  of  America  which  they 
may  chance  to  frequent ;  so  small  is  their  variation  in 
any  respect  but  that  of  color,  which  appears  to  vary  in 
obedience  to  no  fixed  law  of  locality  or  latitude,  except 
that  it  appears  to  me  that  of  the  fishes  taken  in  estuaries 
and  at  the  mouths  of  tidal  rivers,  the  color  is  deeper  and 
the  tints  fade  from  cerulean  black  along  the  dorsal  out- 
line to  olive  green  on  the  flanks,  with  a  silver  belly ; 
while  in  clear  lakes  and  fresh  streams,  they  change  from 
olive-green  on  the  back  to  bright  golden  yellow  on  the 
sides  and  belly. 

THE    YELLOW  PEKCH. 

'    Color, — General  tint  of  the  back  greenish-yellow ;  of 
the  sides  golden-yellow  with  minute  black  specs ;  and 


THE  PEiicn.  -  S05 

of  tlie  belly  wliitisli.  IS^ine  or  ten  dark  bands  descend 
from  the  back  to  the  sides,  and  taper  awaj  toward  tho 
belly  ;  tlie  alternate  ones  are  shorter,  and  on  tbe  tail  and 
shoulders  tliey  are  less  distinctly  defined  ;  tlie  longest 
band  is  opposite  to  the  posterior  part  of  the  first  dorsal 
fin,  on  which  there  is  a  large  black  mark. 

Form. — The  body  is  moderately  compressed,  its  great- 
est thickness  being  somewhat  more  than  one  half  of  its 
depth.  Its  profile  is  oblong,  tapering  more  toward  the 
tail,  which  is  nearly  cylindrical :  its  greatest  depth  is  at 
the  ventrals,  and  rather  exceeds  one-fourth  of  the  total 
length,  caudal  included. 

The  head  constitutes  two-sevenths  of  the  total  length, 
and  its  height,  at  the  eye,  is  equal  to  one-half  its  length 
from  the  tip  of  the  snout  to  the  point  of  the  gill-cover. 
The  forehead  is  flat,  but  .appears  depressed,  owing  to  the 
convexity  of  the  nape.  The  snout  is  a  little  convex. 
The  orbits  are  lateral,  distant  more  than  one  of  their  own 
diameters  from  the  tip  of  the  snout,  and  more  than  two 
diameters  from  the  point  of  the  gill-cover.  Tlie  jaws  are 
equal.  The  mouth  descends  as  it  runs  backward,  its 
posterior  angle  being  under  the  centre  of  the  orbit. 

Teeth. — The  intermaxiliaries,  lower-jaw,  knob  of  the 
vomer,  and  edge  of  the  palate-bones,  are  covered  with 
very  small,  straight  or  slightly-curved,  densely-crowded 
teeth  {en  velours.)  The  vault  of  the  palate,  posterior 
part  of  the  vomer,  and  the  pointed  tongue,  are  smooth. 

GillrGovers, — The  preoperculum  is  narrow ;  its  upper 


306    '  AMERICAN   GAME. 

limb  rising  vertically  forms  a  right-angle  with  the  lower 
one ;  and  its  edge  is  armed  with  small  spinous  teeth, 
those  (m  the  lower  limb  being  directed  forward.  The 
bony  operculum  terminates  in  a  narrow  sub-spinoas 
point,  beneath  which  there  are  three  denticulations,  with 
grooves  running  backward  from  them.  An  acute- 
pointed  membranous  flap  prolonged  from  the  margin  of 
the  suboperculum  conceals  these  parts  iu  the  recent  fish. 
The  edge  of  the  interoperculum  and  posterior  part  of  the 
suboperculum  are  minutely  denticulated.  Tlie  edges  of 
the  humeral  bones  are  slightly  grooved  and  denticulated, 
the  denticulations  being  more  obvious  in  some  individu- 
als than  in  others. 

/Scales. — There  are  sixty  scales  on  the  lateral  line,  and 
twenty-two  in  a  vertical  row  between  the  first  dorsal  and 
centre  of  the  belly.  The  scales  are  rather  small,  their 
bases  truncated  and  furrowed  to  near  the  middle  (striees 
en  eventail)  by  six  grooves  corresponding  to  eight  minute 
lobes  of  the  margin.  A  narrow  border  of  the  outer 
rounded  edge  is  very  minutely  streaked,  producing  teeth 
on  the  margin,  visible  under  a  lens.  The  length  and 
breadth  of  a  scale,  taken  from  the  side,  are  about  equal, 
being  two  and  a  half  lines.  A  linear  inch  measured  on 
the  sides  or  belly,  longitudinally,  contains  twelve  scales, 
the  scales  on  the  belly  having,  however,  less  vertical 
breadth.  On  the  back  an  inch  includes  seventeen  or 
eighteen.  The  asperity  of  the  scales  is  perceptible  to 
the  finger,  when  it  is  drawn  over  them  from  the  tail 
12* 


THE   PEKCH.  SOT 

toward  the  head.  The  lateral-line  is  thrice  as  near  to 
the  back  as  to  the  belly,  and  is  slightly  arched  till  it 
passes  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins,  when  it  runs  straight 
through  the  middle  of  the  tail.  It  is  marked  on  each 
scale  by  a  tubular  elevation,  which  is  divided  irregularly 
by  an  oblique  depression. 

Fins.—Br.  7—7;  D.  13—1  |  13;  P.  14;  Y.  1  |  5;  A. 
2  I  8 ;  C.  17  5-5.* 

The  first  dorsal  commences  a  little  posterior  to  the 
point  of  the  gill-cover  and  to  the  pectorals  :  its  fourth 
and  fifth  rays  are  the  highest :  the  first  ray  is  slender 
and  not  half  the  height  of  the  second ;  the  last  ray  is  so 
short  as  to  be  detected  only  by  a  close  examination. 
The  second  dorsal  commences  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from 
the  first,  the  space  between  them  being  occupied  by  two 
or  three  inter-spinous  bones  without  rays  :  its  first  ray  is 
spinous,  and  is  closely  applied  to  the  base  of  the  second, 
which  is  thrice  as  long,  distinctly  articulated,  and 
divided  at  the  tip  ;  the  remaining  rays  are  all  divided  at 
their  summits,  but  at  their  bases  the  articulations  are 
obsolete.  The  pectorals  originate  opposite  to  the  spinous 
point  of  the  operculum  ;  they  are  somewhat  longer  than 
the  ventrals,  which  are  attached  opposite  to  the  second 
spine  of  the  first  dorsal.     The  anal  is  rounded  :  its  first 

*  Br.  represents  the  rays  within  the  gill-covers,  which  form  the 
breathing  apparatus  of  the  animal— D.  the  dorsals — P,  pectorals — Y. 
ventrals — A',  anal — C.  caudal.  The  notations  1  |  13,  2  |  5,  and  2  j  8, 
5  ^pectively  indicate  one  hard  spine,  thirteen  soft  rays,  etc.  etc. 


308  AilEKICAN    GAME. 

ray  is  one-fourtli  part  shorter  tlian  the  second,  Loth  beiii^ 
spinous  :  the  succeeding  rays  are  articulated  and  branch- 
ed, the^iive  anterior  ones  being  longer  than  the  second 
spine,  the  others  becoming  successively  shorter :  its 
termination  is  opposite  to  that  of  the  second  dorsal. 
Tlie  caudal  is  distinctly  forked,  its  base  is  scaly,  the 
scales  advancing  farther  on  the  outer  rays  and  covering 
one-third  of  their  length. 

Such  is  the  general  description  of  the  fish  throughout 
the  country  at  large,  but  great  allowance  must  be  made 
for  accidental  and  local  variations  of  color,  some  speci- 
mens being  light  green,  backed  and  barred  with  black, 
with  silvery  bellies,  others  exactly  as  portrayed  above, 
others  nearly  orange,  and  approaching  in  some  degree  to 
the  splendor  of  the  gold-fish. 

As  I  have  observed,  no  fish  is  more  general  than  this, 
in  every  description  of  waters  throughout  his  range  in 
the  United  States.  From  the  largest  rivers,  so  low  down 
their  channels  that  the  waters  begin  to  be  brackish,  to 
the  smallest  mountain  rivulets  ;  from  the  mill-pond,  and 
small,  clear  mountain  tarn,  to  the  vast  exjianses  of 
Huron,  Michigan  and  Superior,  they  are  omnipresent 
and  numerous. 

They  spawn  in  March,  each  female  exuding  a  vast 
quantity  of  spawn.  So  many  as  992,000  ova  having 
been  taken,  as  it  is  stated  by  Mr.  Brown  in  his  "Ameri- 
can Angler's  Guide,"  though  he  does  not  annex  his 
authority,  from  a  single  female. 


THE   PERCII.  309 

They  may  be  taken  during  every  montli  of  the  year 
with  the  hook,  being  bold  biters  and  among  the  most 
voracious  of  all  fishes,  devouring  the  spawn  and  young 
fry  of  their  own  species  with  savage  avidity,  and  being 
among  the  most  deadly  foes  to  the  trout  preserves,  owing 
to  the  rapacity  with  which  they  ransack  the  spawning 
beds. 

Tliey  are  in  the  main  a  lively  and  active  fish,  roving 
about  in  small  bands  or  shoals,  sometimes  swimming 
high  and  near  the  surface,  leaping  merrily  at  the  flies 
and  smaller  water  insects,  and  sometimes,  especially  in 
clear,  rapid  scours  of  gravel-bedded  rivers,  sweeping 
along  the  bottom,  gathering  the  small,  red  brandling 
worms,  of  which  they  are  very  fond,  caddises,  and  other 
water  reptiles,  as  well  the  spawn  of  such  fish  as  use 
these  localities. 

The  larger  fish  will,  however,  often  select  stations, 
such  as  the  lee  of  a  large  stone  at  the  tail  of  a  ripple, 
especially  under  the  umbrage  of  trees  growing  on  the 
bank,  or  among  the  piles  and  timbers  of  mill-dams  or 
sluice-ways,  whence  they  sally  out  like  the  pike  or  trout 
on  any  passing  prey  with  great  velocity  and  accuracy  of 
aim.  Still  even  these  are  decidedly  gregarious,  as  one  is 
never  found  singly  in  a  hole,  such  places  being  invaria- 
bly frequented  by  such  a  band  as  it  will  liberally  sup- 
port, who  rarely  stray  beyond  its  limits,  and  prey,  for  the 
most  part  over  the  same  fishing-ground,  and  in  the  same 
course. 


^10  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

Tliis  propensity  is  taken  advantage  of  by  tlie  angler, 
since,  when  he  has  once  struck  upon  a  well-stocked 
haunt,  while  the  fish  are  in  the  humor  to  bite,  he  will  be 
very  apt,  if  patient  and  skillful,  to  take  the  whole  shoal 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  fish. 

The  growth  of  the  yellow  perch  is  slow,  and  appears 
to  be  proportioned  pretty  accurately  to  the  size  and 
character  of  the  waters  which  he  frequents.  Li  small, 
swift-running  brooks,  or  little  spring-ponds  or  mill-dams, 
he  rarely  exceeds  a  few  inches  in  length  and  a  few 
ounces  in  weight,  partaking  generally  of  the  green  and 
silvery  type  of  the  fish.  In  estuaries  and  large  rivers,  in 
the  pellucid  tarns  and  lakelets,  which  are  dotted  so 
beautifully  through  all  the  uplands  of  the  eastern  and 
middle  states  from  Maine  to  Pennsylvania,  in  the  vast 
expanses  of  the  great  northern  lakes  of  Canada,  in  the 
giant  rivers  of  the  west,  they  attain  far  more  rapidly  to 
a  great  size,  three  or  four  pounds  being  a  run  by  no 
means  unusual,  and  individuals  being  not  unfrequently 
taken  up  to  five,  six  and  seven  pounds,  when  they  are 
very  firm,  fat,  and  in  capital  condition  for  the  table. 

They  may  be  caught  in  all  months  of  the  year.  Mr. 
Brown  considers  that  they  "  may  be  had  in  the 
largest  quantities  and  in  the  finest  condition  from  May 
to  July  ;"  but.  from  my  own  experience,  w^hich  has  been 
limited  principally  to  the  lakelets  of  Maine,  to  Green- 
wood or  Wawayanda  lake,  in  Orange  county,  ]S"ew  York, 
to  Lake  Hopatkong,  desecrated  into  Brooklyn  pond,  in 


THE   PEECH.  811 

Sussex  county,  'New  Jersey,  and  to  some  of  tlie  north 
eastern  streams  and  ponds  of  Pennsylvania,  I  should  say 
that  late  in  the  autumn — 

When  the  maple  boughs  are  crimson, 

And  the  hickory  shines  like  gold, 
And  the  noons  are  sultry  hot. 

And  the  nights  are  frosty  cold ; 

They  bite  with  greater  freedom,  show  more  sport,  and 
are  better  on  the  table  than  at  any  other  season  of  the 
year. 

The  yellow  perch  is  a  bold,  nay  !  a  savage  biter,  and 
a  greedy  feeder  ;  it  is  even  recorded  of  him  that  he  has 
been  known  to  strike  at  his  own  eye,  casually  torn  out 
by  the  point  of  the  hook,  which  is  to  me  by  no  means 
incredible. 

Securely  weaponed  by  the  sharp  palisade  of  arrowy 
spines  bristling  along  his  back,  and  by  the  stout  jagged 
thorns  protruding  in  advance  of  his  ventral  anal  fins, 
when  of  any  considerable  size,  he  fears  neither  the 
tremendous  rush  and  shark-like  jaws  of  the  savage  mas- 
calonge,  nor  the  terrible  agility  and  dauntless  daring  of 
the  namaycush  and  siskawity,  those  vast  lake  trouts,  but 
feeds  himself,  a  lesser  tyrant  of  the  waters,  on  whatever 
crosses  his  path  of  havoc. 

A  light,  stiff,  len-foot  rod,  with  a  small  reel,  and 
twenty-five  or  thirty  yards  of  line,  with  a  small  cork 
float,  and  a  proper  sinker  for  bottom  fishing,  is  the  best 


312  AMERICAN    GAME. 

implement ;  and  tlie  best  baits  for  this  method  are  the 
common  ground-worm  or  the  little  scarlet  brandling. 
Tlie  latter  particularly  in  rapid  channels  and  scours. 
Cheese  pastes  are  also  used,  and  at  times  successfully, 
but  I  do  not  advocate  their  use,  but  the  most  certainly 
deadly  of  all  baits  is  the  paste  made  from  the  preserved 
roe  of  any  fish  which  frequents  the  waters  you  are  to 
fish.  Trout-roe,  in  lakes  or  rivers  haunted  by  that 
gamest  and  best  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  water,  kills 
unerringly. 

In  brackish  water  shrimp  beats  the  world  for  perch, 
remembering  that  you  fish  near  to  or  upon  the  bottom. 

Perch,  especially  when  of  large  size,  may  be  trolled 
for  as  pike,  with  the  hind  legs  of  a  frog,  or  with  any 
small  fish  on  a  gorge  hook.  But  in  my  opinion  the 
prettiest  of  all  modes  of  catching  them  is  to  rove  for 
them  with  the  live  minnow. 

For  this  purpose  you  take  a  fine,  clear,  gut  leader, 
with  a  ISTo.  9  Limerick  hook  whipped  on  at  the  tail,  and 
an  inch  and  a  half  above  it,  and  back  to  back  to  the  tail 
hook,  a  second  one  size  smaller  than  the  first.  The 
upper  should  be  hooked  securely  into  the  lower  jaw  of  a 
moderate  sized  minnow,  and  the  lower  into  his  dorsal  fin, 
care  being  taken  not  to  pierce  his  back,  when  he  will 
swim  about  naturally  and  gayly  for  many  hours,  if  not 
taken  by  a  fish,  and  if  carefully  released  without  lacera- 
tion, will  survive  the  operation.  A  small  cork,  or  what 
is  better,  quill-float,  is  necessary  to  this  method,  and  a 


THE   TEKCH.  813 

few  shot,  sufficient  to  sink  the  bait  to  within  three 
inches  of  the  bottom.  When  a  bite  is  felt,  a  little  time 
should  be  given  before  striking  :  when  struck,  the  perch 
is  surely  taken,  for  though  he  pulls  hard  for  a  short  time 
he  has  neither  the  fierce  courage  nor  the  wily  craft  of 
the  trout,  but  succumbs  after  a  few  brief  struggles.  A 
reel  is  necessary,  and  the  float  often  dispensed  with  by 
veterans  in  the  art. 

The  following  very  graphic  extracts,  on  perch  fishing 
in  the  waters  of  the  Niagara  river  and  Lake  Erie,  are 
from  the  pen  of  probably  the  best  piscatorial  writer  of 
the  United  States,  long  an  esteemed  correspondent  of  the 
BuflPalo  Commercial  Advertiser,  from  whose  lucubrations 
I  have  borrowed  largely  in  my  larger  works  on  "  Figh 
and  Fishing,"  and  to  whom  I  gladly  record  my  obliga- 
tion: 

"  The  Yellow  Perch.  This  beautiful  and  active  fish 
is  almost  omnipresent  in  the  fresh  waters  of  the  ISTorth- 
eni  States.  There  are  probably  two  distinct  but  similar 
species  in  our  country,  blended  together  under  this  com- 
mon name.  The  perch  of  ISTew  England  difiers  from 
ours  principally  in  the  shape  of  the  head.  In  the  Sara- 
toga Lake,  Owasco  Lake,  Cayuga  Outlet,  the  Flats  of 
Lake  Huron,  and  many  other  localities,  the  perch  is 
larger  than  with  us,  frequently  weighing  three  pounds. 
Among  the  perch  of  our  streams  and  rivers,  a  half-pound- 
er is  a  very  portly  citizen — though  on  a  few  particular 
bars  they  are  sometimes  taken  in  considerable  numbers, 
14 


314  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

averaging  nearly  a  pound  each.  It  is  almost  always  to 
be  had,  from  earliest  spring  to  the  commencement  of 
winter ;  -and  when  poor  Piscator  has  had  all  his  lobsters* 
taken  by  the  sheeps-head,  and  utterly  despairs  of  bass, 
he  can,  at  any  time,  and  almost  any  where,  in  our  river, 
bait  with  the  minnow  and  the  worm,  and  retrieve  some- 
what from  frowning  fortune,  by  catching  a  mess  of 
perch. 

"  In  the  spring,  as  soon  as  the  ice  has  left  the  streams, 
the  perch  begins  running  up  our  creeks  to  sj^awn.  He 
is  then  caught  in  them  in  great  plenty.^  About  the 
middle  of  May,  however,  he  seems  to  prefer  the 
IS'iagara's  clear  current,  and  almost  entirely  deserts  the 
Tonawanda,  and  other  amber  waters.  You  then  find 
him  in  the  eddies,  on  the  edge  of  swift  ripples,  and  often 
in  the  swift  waters,  watching  for  the  minnow.  As  the 
water-weeds-  increase  in  height,  he  ensconces  himself 
among  them,  and,  in  mid-summer,  comes  out  to  seek  his 
prey  only  in  the  morning  and  towai^d  night.  .He  seems 
to  delight  especially  in  a  grassy  bottom,  and  when  the 
black  frost  has  cut  down  the  tall  water-weeds,  and  the 
more  delicate  herbage  that  never  attains  the  surface  is 
withered,  he  disappears  until  spring — ^probably  secluding 
himself  in  the  depths  of  the  river. 

"The  back  fin  of  the  perch  is  large,  and  armed  with 
strong  spines.     He  is  bold  and  ravenous.     He  will  not 
give  way  to  the  pike  or  to  the  black  bass  ;  and  though 
*  By  lobsters  the  writer  means  the  small  fresh-water  crayfish. 


THE   PEECH.  815 

he  may  aDmetimes  be  eaten  by  tliem,  bis  comrades  will 
retaliate  upon  the  young  of  bis  destroyers. 

"  Tbe  proper  bait  for  the  percb  is  tbe  minnow.  He 
will  take  that  at  all  seasons.  Id  mid-summer,  however, 
he  prefers  the  worm,  at  which  he  generally  bites  freely. 
He  is  often  taken  with  the  grub,  or  with  small  pieces  of 
fish  of  any  kind. 

*'  He  is  a  capital  fish  at  all  times  for  the  table.  His 
flesh  is  hard  and  savory.  He  should  be  fried  with  salt 
pork  rather  than  butter,  and  thoroughly  done.  He 
makes  good  chowder,  though  inferior  for  that  purpose  to 
the  black  bass  or  the  yellow  pike. 

"  A  diiference  of  opinion  exists  among  our  most  tasteful 
icthyophagists,  as  to  whether  this  fish  should  be  scaled 
or  skinned.  Let  me  tell  you  how  to  skin  him.  Take  a 
sharp  pointed  knife,  and  rip  up  the  skin  along  the  back, 
from  the  posterior  extremity  of  the  back  fin,  on  one  or 
both  sides  of  it,  along  its  whole  length — then  take  the 
fish  firmly  by  the  head  with  the  left  hand,  and  with  the 
right  take  hold  of  the  skin  of  the  back  near  the  head, 
first  on  one  side  arid  then  on  the  other,  and  peal  it  down 
over  the  tail.  This  being  done,  all  the  fins  are  thereby 
removed  except  those  of  the  back  and  belly,  which  are 
easily  drawn  out  by  a  gentle  pulling  towards  the  head. 
Cut  off  the  head,  and  you  have  a  skinless,  finless  lump 
of  pure  white  fiesh.  Some  say  this  is  the  only  way  a 
perch  should  be  prepared  for  the  cook's  art — others  say 
it  impairs  the  flavor,  and  should  never  be  pursued.     Aa 


316  AMEEICAl^   GAME. 

for  me,  I  saj,  '  in  medio  tutissimus  iihis^ — neither  of  the 
disputants  is  infallible.  Much,  very  much  of  the  sweet- 
ness of-^he  perch,  and,  indeed,  almost  all  fishes,  resides 
in  the  skin,  which  should  never  be  parted  with  except 
for  some  special  reason  ;  therefore,  as  a  general  thing,  I 
scale  my  perch.  But,  in  summer,  the  skin  of  the  perch 
is  apt  to  acquire  a  slightly  bitter  taste,  or  a  smack  of  the 
mud — therefore,  in  summer,  I  skin  my  perch." 

Before  quitting  this  subject,  I  will  simply  point  out 
that  the  excellent  little  pan  fish  taken  in  salt  water,  near 
the  turn  of  the  tide,  in  most  of  our  large  rivers,  and 
usually  known  as  white  perch,  or  silver  perch,  is  not  a 
perch,  but  the  little  white,  or  the  little  red  bass.  And 
herewith,  good-night;  and  good  luck  to  the  gentle 
friends  and  good  fishermen  all  who  read  Graham. 


XII. 
DECEMEES. 


Jb'ullgida  Beinaculata. 

MASSACHUSETTS  SOUTH  TO  THE  CHRSAPEAKE;    WEST  TO 
THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


Fuligula  BituMculata. 

ARCTIC  REGIONS  TO   THE  ST.  LAWRENCE  AND  LAKE 

MICHKJAX. 


320  AMEEICAls^    GAME. 

as  seen  and  felt  upon  the  board,  not  jet  in  liis  grander 
and  nobler  capacity  and  character,  as  game  in  the  free 
air,  or  on  the  liberal  waters,  let  us  observe  that  the  cook 
who  sends  this  glorious  fowl  red-raw  up  to  the  table,  to 
be  cut  up  butcherly  and  bedeviled  in  a  chafing-dish, 
with  wine  and  jelly,  and  I  know  not  what,  is  worthy  of 
a  rope  and  the  nearest  lamj)-post — death  without  benefit 
of  clergy.  The  man  who  would  so  condescend  to  eat 
him,  his  juicy,  melting,  natural  richness  disguised  by 
cloying  artificial  sweetness,  deserves  incontinently  to  be 
elected  a  I^ew  York  alderman,  and  doomed  to  batten, 
life-long,  at  the  corporation  ^^^-table ;  nor  can  we  con- 
ceive a  doom  more  hideous  or  intolerable  to  be  endured 
by^any  rational,  much  more  refined  or  thinking  man, 
than  such  a  condemnation  ;  whether  we  regard .  the 
quality  of  the  gross  feeders  and  fowl-livers  with  whom 
he  would  have  to  consort,  or  the  nature  of  the  ill-cooked 
ill-assorted,  rank  and  racy  viands  which  he  would  be 
compelled  to  absorb. 

JSTo  !  let  the  kitchen  be  the  kitchen,  and  its  work  be 
done  within  its  own  confines.  Let  the  duck,  roasted  to 
a  turn,  redolent  of  a  rapid  fire,  and  brownly,  nay,  but 
almost  hlaclcly  crisp  without,  be  served  up  on  its  lordly 
dish,  without  one  gout  of  sauce  or  gravy  to  dim  the 
splendor  of  the  sheeny  porcelain.  A  vase  of  celery 
may  accompany  him,  and,  if  you  will,  a  salver  of  halved 
lemons,  but  no  more.  Let  him  be  placed  before  the 
right  man  of  the  company,  one  competent  to 


THE   CAXVAS-EACK   DUCK.  321 

Carve  him  as  a  dish  for  gods, 
Not  hew  him  as  a  carcass  for  the  hounds." 

Then,  if  he  be  indeed  the  very  man,  it  is  a  pleasure  in 
itself  to  observe  him.  Mark  how  dantilj  between  his 
thumb  and  forefinger  only  he  poises  the  elaborate  and 
burnished  steel ;  how  dexterously  and  without  effort  he 
slides  it  through  the  rich  scarlet  muscle,  glowing  like  a 
ripe  pomegranate  when  its  skin  is  severed,  through  car- 
tilage and  joint  unerring — ■ 

"  And  as  he  draws  his  trenchant  steel  away, 
Mark  how  the  blood  of  Caesar  follows  it," 

till  the  broad  dish,  of  late  so  bright  and  stainless,  is  filled 
even  to  o'erflowing  with  the  rare,  crimson  gravy,  and 
the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  dining  room  is  perfumed 
with  the  noble  fumet. 

And,  now  to  descend  from  no  inappropriate  raptures 
to  the  world  of  common  sense  and  the  terrestrial  limits 
of  Duckdom,  be  it  known,  that  all  this  delicacy  of  flavor, 
all  this  rare  juciness  and  melting  pinguidit^,  are  attrib- 
utable solely  to  the  nicety  and  gentlemanly  habits  of 
your  Chesapeake  Canvas-Back,  in  that  he  feeds,  revers- 
ing the  modus  operandi  of  my  friends,  the  knights  of  the 
tea-table,  wisely,  but  not  too  well.  Your  Canvas -Back 
of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  but  more  especially  of  the  Gun- 
powder river,  is  the  nobleman  of  that  ancient  dominion  ; 

whereas,  all  other  Canvas-Backs,  even  of  the  James,  the 
14^- 


322  AMERICAN   GAME. 

Potomac,  and  the  Patapsco,  shall  be  at  once  distinguisli- 
ed  as  mere  jL>arvemies  and  merchant  princes ;  as  those 
from  the  Hudson,  the  Sound,  or  the  great  South  Bay, 
rank  as  the  mere  snobs  and  vulgarians — ^the  very  out- 
casts of  Duckdom. 

The  wonderful  difference  which  exists  between  these 
fowl,  when  shot  on  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
elsewhere,  arises  solely  from  the  difference  of  their  food. 
The  Canvas-Back  ranges  across  many  degrees  of  this 
continent,  from  the  Falls  of  St.  Peter's  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  whence  I  possess  a  pair  of  fine  stuffed  speci- 
mens, sent  to  me  by  my  friend  Mr.  Sibley,  now  M.  C. 
for  Minnesota,  corresponding  in  every  particular  with 
the  same  birds  from  the  southern  estuaries,  so  far  north 
as  the  Long  Island  Sound,  and  the  great  lagoons  between 
its  southern  side  and  the  outer  beaches  on  which  I  have 
frequently  killed  it.  But  nowhere  is  it  a  superior  duck, 
except  on  the  waters  and  tributaries  of  the  Chesapeake, 
where  its  favorite  food,  the  wild  celery,  as  it  is  incorrect- 
ly called,  Zostera  YaUsneria,  or  YalisAei'ia  Americana, 
grows  in  the  greatest  abundance,  and  imparts  to  it  that 
peculiar  richness  and  delicacy,  which  it  bestows  on  none 
of  its  congeners,  though  all  these,  too,  it  wonderfully 
improves,  particularly  the  Widgeon,  or  Baldpate,  Anas 
America?ia,  regarded  as  second  to  it  longo  intervallo, 
and  the  Eed-Headed  Duck,  or  Pochard,  Fuligula  ferina, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  its  cousin  german.  While 
speaking  of  the  birds  in  this  relation  I  may  mention  that 


THE  CANVAS-BACK  DUCK.  323 

tlie  Red-Head,  thoiigli  immeasurably  inferior  to  the 
Canvas-Back,  where  both  can  feed  on  the  valisneria,  is 
as  far  superior  to  it  when  shot  on  sea-ways  where  both 
are  compelled  to  feed  on  other  species  of  sea-grass  and 
weeds.  Indeed,  I  consider  the  Duskey  Duck,  commonly 
known  as  the  Black-Duck,  a  better  bird  on  the  ]N"orthern 
Atlantic  sea-board  than  this  fowl. 

The  vaUsneria  of  which  it  is  so  fond,  and  to  which  it 
owes  so  much  of  its  excellence,  grows  only  on  fresh 
shoals,  in  water  from  seven  to  nine  feet,  which  are  never 
left  bare  at  the  lowest  tides.  It  is  a  long  grass-like 
plant,  with  narrow  leaves  of  five  or  six  feet  in  length  or 
upward,  and  is  said  to  grow  so  thickly  that  a  boat  can 
scarcely  be  pulled  through  it ;  the  root  is  white,  and 
somewhat  resembles  celery,  whence  its  common  name, 
and  on  this  only  do  the  ducks  feed,  the  Canvas-Back  and 
Scaup-Duck,  Fuligula  Marila — the  Black-Head  of  the 
Chesapeake,  and  Broad-Bill  of  Long  Island — for  these 
three  are  one — being  reported  to  dive  for  it,  and  uproot 
it,  while  the  less  vigorous  and  active  Red-Head  and 
"Widgeon  rob  the  rightful  possessors  of  it  when  they  rise 
to  the  surface  after  their  long  dive. 

The  Red-Head  closely  resembles  the  Canvas-Back,  and 
is  often  palmed  off  on  the  unwary  as  that  bird,  yet  to  an 
experienced  eye  the  distinction  is  broadly  apparent.  In 
the  first  place  the  Canvas-Back  is  very  considerably  the 
larger  bird,  measuring  two  feet  in  length  by  three  feet 
from  wing  to  wing,  and  weighing,  when  in  condition, 


324  AMERICAN    GAME. 

full  three  pounds.  The  upper  parts  of  the  Canvas-Backs 
are  much  lighter,  and  the  colors  generally  clearer  and 
brighter  than  in  the  Eed-IIead,  which  I  consider  identi- 
cal with  the  European  Pochard.  It  is  in  the  heads  of 
the  two  birds,  however,  that  the  difference  will  be  most 
readily  perceived,  the  bill  of  the  Canvas-Back  being 
above  three  inches  long,  purely  black,  and  very  high  at 
the  base ;  whereas  that  of  the  Bed-Head  is  bluish, 
except  at  the  tip,  where  it  is  black,  and  rarely  exceeds 
two  and  a  quarter  inches,  besides  being  much  flatter 
where  it  joins  the  head.  Perhaps  the  best  distinction, 
however,  is  in  the  eye,  for  that  mark  is  positive,  whereas 
all  tlie  others  are  merely  comparative;  tlie  irides^  or 
circles  around  the  pupil  being,  in  the  Canvas-Back, 
deep,  fiery  red  ;  whereas  in  the  other  bird  they  are  of  a 
lurid  reddish-yellow  or  chestnut. 

I  have  beeii  somewhat  particular  in  insisting  on  these 
differences,  as  I  find  that  there  prevails  much  uncertainty 
regarding  them,  and  as  the  pointing  out  these  with 
precision  may  protect  some  fair  readers,  if  any  deign  to 
cast  their  eyes  over  this  paper,  as  well  as  gentle  sports- 
men, from  deception  and  disappointment. 

Tlie  Canvas-Back  drake,  in  full  plumage,  is  a  magnifi- 
cently handsome  fowl,  and  his  speed  and  power  of  sus- 
tained flight,  as  well  as  extraordinary  agility  and 
persistence  in  diving  are  in  all  respects  commensurate 
with  his  beauty. 

The  crown  of  his  head,  the  space  between  the  bill  and 


THE   CANVAS-BACK   DUCK.  325 

tlie  eye,  and  tlie  throat,  are  dusky ;  tlie  sides  of  the 
head,  neck  all  round  and  the  greater  part  of  its  length, 
rich,  ruddy  chestnut ;  the  lower  neck,  breast,  and  back, 
deep,  sooty  black,  the  rest  of  the  back  white,  closely 
undulated  with  narrow  black  lines;  the  wing-coverts 
gray,  speckled  with  black ;  primaries  and  secondaries 
light  slate  color;  rump  tail-coverts  and  tail,  blackish; 
lower  breast  and  abdomen,  white ;  flanks  white,  finely 
undulated  with  gray ;  under  tail-coverts,  grayish-black. 

The  female  is  inferior  in  size  to  the  male,  and  general- 
ly of  a  dingy,  grayish-brown,  except  the  abdomen, 
w^hich  is  white,  penciled  with  blackish  lines. 

This  bird  is  unknown  except  on  this  continent,  never 
being  found  in  Europe  ;  and  of  its  habits,  except  during 
the  winter  months,  which  it  spends  in  our  sea-bays  and 
estuaries,  little  or  nothing  has  been  ascertained,  so  that 
of  all  its  most  interesting  peculiarities  in  nidification, 
incubation,  and  the  rearing  of  its  young,  we  are  almost 
wholly  ignorant. 

That  it  breeds  in  the  extreme  north  we  are,  of  course, 
assured,  and  that  it  is  not  averse  to  a  more  than  mode- 
rate degree  of  cold,  since  it  stays  with  us  even  after  the 
ice  has  made,  when  it  can  feed  only  through  air-holes, 
and  is  never  found  far  soutk  of  the  capes  of  the  Chesa- 
peake. It  does  not,  moreover,  become  very  abundant 
even  on  those  its  favorite  waters,  until  the  cold  weather 
has  fairly  set  in,  about  tke  middle  of  ITovember,  and  a 
month  later  it  is  considered  to  be  in  its  prime.     It  is, 


326  AMERICAN   GAME. 

liowever,  very  remarkable,  that  I  cannot  discover  tliat 
the  Canvas-Back  is  ever  seen  or  known  to  visit  the  great 
Upper  Lakes,  where  the  Eead-Head  is  also  rare,  though 
"Widgeon  and  Scaup  abound,  and  though  the  northern 
tributaries  of  Lake  Huron,  as  well  as  the  flats  of  the 
Lake  St.  Clair  are  overgrown  with  all  the  various  plants 
in  which  they  most  delight,  both  the  Yalisneria  A7neri- 
cana^  and  the  zizania  jpanicula  effusa^  known  as  wild 
rice,  flourishing  in  wonderful  profusion,  and  imj^arting 
their  peculiar  qualities  of  flavor,  tenderness,  and  juci- 
ness  to  all  the  tribes  of  water-fowl,  even  the  least  worthy, 
which  haunt  these  deep,  ice-cold,  translucent  waters. 
The  only  solution  I  can  ofler  for  tliis  seeming  anomrly, 
for  all  the  other  ducks  pause  to  recruit  awhile  in  those 
favorable  feeding-grounds  while  on  their  southward 
course,  is  that  the  Canvas-Back  and  Ked-Head  do  not 
move  67i  masse  from  the  northern  sea-shores,  until  those 
great  inland  waters  are  girdled  around  their  margins, 
and  winter-bound  along  their  tributary  streams  by  fetters 
of  thick-ribbed  ice,  and  that  the  fowl  in  consequence 
pass  over  without  pausing  or  becoming  known,  to  their 
great  detriment,  to  the  red  or  white  inhabitants  of  the 
coast.  Certain  it  is,  that  they  are  unknown  to  the 
Indian  tribes  who  dwell  on  the  shores  or  islands  of  Lake 
Huron,  and  that  the  officers  of  the  English  posts  who 
have  known  them  elsewhere,  ignore  them  here. 

To  compensate,  however,  for  our  ignorance  concerning 
their  summer  habits,  haunts,  and  proceedings,  we  are 


THE   CANVAS-BACK   DUCK.  327 

well  aware  of  tlieir  winter  doings  and  sufferings,  for,  in 
truth,  from  the  day  of  their  arrival  on  the  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake  to  that  of  their  departure  in  the  spring,  they 
have  small  rest  by  day  or  by  night,  in  spite  of  the  exer- 
tions of  the  shooting-clubs  to  prevent  their  disturbance 
by  sailing-boats  and  punts  with  swivels  on  the  feeding- 
grounds. 

One  of  their  habits  is  so  curious  that  it  merits  peculiar 
attention,  though  it  is  shared  by  these  birds  with  several 
other  varieties,  the  Scaups,  or  Black-Heads,  and  the 
"Read-Heads  especially,  and  sometimes,  though  rarely,  by 
the  Widgeon  or  Bald-Pates;  this  habit  is  a  strange 
hallucination,  or  curiosity,  which  induces  them  to  swim 
directly  in  from  their  feeding-grounds,  under  tlie  very 
muzzle  of  the  concealed  gunner's  weapon  on  the  occur- 
rence of  any  rare  or  unusual  sight,  such  as  an  animal  at 
play  on  the  beach,  or  the  waving  of  a  red  handkerchief 
by  day,  and  a  white  by  night.  Advantage  is  taken  of 
this  singular  propensity  to  lure  them  to  their  doom  ;  and 
I  am  assured  by  a  good  sportsman  that  he  has  known 
the  same  flock  toled^  as  it  is  called,  into  easy  gun-shot 
and  decimated  each  time,  thrice  successively  within 
half  an  hour. 

The  mode  of  doing  this  is  thus  related  by  Dr.  Sharp- 
less,  of  Philadelphia,  who  contributed  the  account  to 
Mr.  Audubon,  for  his  "  Birds  of  America,"  from  w^hom, 
with  due  acknowledgment,  I  borrow  it,  never  having 


328  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

myself  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  observing  this  singular 
mode  of  sporting. 

For  this  purpose,  says  the  doctor,  "  a  spot  is  usually 
selected  where  the  birds  have  not  been  much  disturbed, 
and  where  they  feed  at  from  three  to  four  hundred  yards 
from,  and  can  approach  to  within  forty  or  fifty  yards  of 
the  shore,  as  they  never  will  come  nearer  than  they  can 
swim  freely.  The  higher  the  tides  and  the  calmer  the 
day,  the  better,  for  they  feed  closer  to  the  shores  and  see 
more  distinctly.  Most  persons  on  these  waters  have  a 
race  of  small  white  or  liver-colored  dogs" — other  writers 
say  red,  and  resembling  the  fox — "  which  they  familiarly 
call  the  toler  breed,  but  which  appear  to  be  the  ordinary 
poodle.  These  dogs  are  extremely  playful,  and  are 
taught  to  run  up  and  down  the  shore,  in  sight  of  the 
ducks,  either  by  the  motion  of  the  hand,  or  by  throwing 
chips  from  side  to  side.  They  soon  become  perfectly 
acquainted  with  their  business,  and  as  they  discover  the 
ducks  approaching  them,  make  their  jumps  less  high,  till 
they  almost  crawl  upon  the  ground  to  prevent  the  birds 
discovering  what  the  object  of  their  curiosity  may  be. 
The  nearest  ducks  soon  notice  this  strange  appearance, 
raise  their  heads,  gaze  intently  for  a  moment,  and  then 
push  for  the  shore,  followed  by  the  rest.  On  many  occa- 
sions I  have  seen  thousands  of  them  swimming  in  a  solid 
mass  direct  for  the  object ;  and  by  removing  the  dogs 
farther  into  the  grass,  they  have  been  brought  to  within 
fifteen  feet  of  the  bank.    When  they  have  ai>proached 


THE   CANVAS-BACK   DIJCK.  329 

to  witliin  thirty  or  forty  yards  tlieir  curiosity  is  generally 
satisfied,  and  after  swimming  np  and  down  for  a  few 
seconds,  they  retrograde  to  their  former  station.  The 
moment  to  shoot  is  while  they  present  their  sides,  and 
forty  or  fifty  ducks  have  often  been  killed  by  a  small 
gun." 

It  is  said  that  the  tendency  to  overshoot  large,  solid 
flocks  is  so  great  that  the  oldest  and  best  shots  recom- 
mend that  the  nearest  duck  be  brought  into  full  relief 
above  the  sight,  when  your  shot  will  rake  the  mass.  To 
prevent  the  toling  dogs  from  breaking,  otlier  dogs, 
crossed  between  the  Newfoundland  and  water-spaniel, 
are  used,  which  display  even  more  sagacity  than  the 
tolers^  crouching  when  the  ducks  come  in,  and  springing 
up  eagerly  at  the  discharge,  in  order  to  mark  its  efi'ect. 
During  a  flight  of  fowl,  these  retrievers  are  said  inces- 
santly to  watch  the  quarter  of  the  heavens  whence  the 
fowl  are  flying,  and  to  indicate  their  approach  by  rest- 
lessness of  manner  long  before  the  human  eye  can  detect 
therm. 

This  toliiig  is  not,  however,  regarded  by  good  and 
gi'eat  duck-shots  as  a  very  legitimate  or  sportsmanlike 
method,  and  though  the  sagacity  of  the  dogs,  and  the 
gradual  approach  of  the  ducks  in  a  way  so  curious  must 
give  an  interest  and  excitement  to  the  business,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  blazing  away  into  solid,  stationary 
masses  of  thousands  cannot  be  compared  to  shooting  on 
the  wing. 


330  AMERICAN    GAME. 

Tlie  true  and  gnostic  mode  of  shooting,  however,  is 
from  the  points  or  islands,  over  which  the  ducks  and 
geese  fly  in  going  up  or  down  the  bay,  according  as  the 
wind  may  be,  and  on  which  blinds  or  screens  are  con- 
structed, concealing  a  seat  on  which  the  sportsman 
quietly  and  comfortably  awaits  the  advent  of  the  fowl, 
the  teams  of  which  may  be  seen  at  a  long  distance,  so 
that  their  approach,  and  the  doubt  to  whose  stand  they 
will  give  the  shot,  renders  the  sport  most  exciting. 
He  trie  vers  of  the  same  character  with  those  described 
above,  are  used  in  this  flight-sliootin-g ;  and  the  use  of 
two  heavy  fourteen  or  sixteen  pounds  single  guns,  carry- 
ing 4  or  5  oz.  of  Xo.  1  to  B  shot,  as  I  have  recommend- 
ed in  my  Field  Sports  for  fowl  shooting  in  general,  is 
greatly  preferred  to  that  of  one  double  gun,  heavier  in 
fact,  but  as  regards  each  barrel,  lighter,  and,  therefore, 
neither  so  safe  nor  effective  as  the  two  singles  in  succes- 
sion, and  by  far  less  easily  managed. 

The  most  celebrated  of  these  stations  is  Carrol's 
Island,  long  rented  by  a  club  of  sporting  gentlemen,  and 
famous  for  the  astonishing  sport  it  was  wont  to  furnish, 
year  after  year.  The  Narrows,  also,  between  Spesutia 
Island  on  the  western  shore,  Taylor's  Island  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Eumley,  and  Abbey  Island  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Bush  River,  Legoe's  Point  on  the  last  named  stream, 
and  Eobbins'  and  Eicketts'  Points,  near  the  Gunj)owder, 
are  all  favorite  and  famous  stations. 

The  sport  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  difficulty  of  the 


THE   CANVAS-BACK   DUCK.  331 

sliootiilg ;  and  it  is  said  tliat  even  the  best  of  upland 
shots,  or  fowl  shots,  accustomed  only  to  stooling^  fail  of 
success  at  first  in  tliis  flight-shooting,  from  the  difficulty 
of  calculating  the  distance  of  the  teams,  and  the  rapidity 
of  their  motion. 

And  now,  gentle  readers,  for  our  time,  our  topic,  and 
our  space,  are  all  three  exhausted,  if  you  he  bound  in 
this,  the  best  month,  for  the  fair  Chesapeake,  steady  be 
your  hands,  and  sure  your  eyes  ;  use  Brough's  Hawkers' 
ducking  powder,  and  Starkey's  central  fire  caps,  so  shall 
your  guns  not  fail  you.  May  the  winds  blow,  the  tides 
flow,  and  the  flights  fly  as  you  would  have  them.  And 
so  farewell  to  ye  ;  and  oh  !  that  we  were  bound  thither 
likewise,  to  beat  you  or  be  beaten,  as  it  might  be. 


THE  WINTER  DUCK. 

The  Lake  Hueon  Scotee. 
FuUgula  himaculata  ?     Canard  d^hiver. 

This  curious  and  interesting  duck  is -not  described  in 
any  book  of  natural  history,  relating  to  the  birds  of  the 
United  States  of  I^orth  America ;  nor,  so  far  as  I  can 
ascertain,  is  it  mentioned  or  named  in  any  general  or 
local  work  of  ornithology,  unless  it  may  possibly  occur 
in  Kichardson's  Fauna  loreali  Americana^  which  I  have 
not  had  an  opportunity  of  consulting. 

It  certainly  is  not  to  be  found  either  in  Audubon  or 
Bonaparte,  much  less  in  Wilson;  nor  could  the  latter 
be  expQcted  to  have  known  it,  since  in  his  day  the 
regions  which  it  frequents  were  scarcely  discovered,  and 
at  the  best  visited  only  by  rude  frontiersmen  and  voya- 
geurs^  or  coureurs  des  hois,  who  are  not  expected  to  take 
much  note  of  generic  or  specific  distinctions  among  the 
varieties  of  game,  w^hich  is  regarded  by  them  as  little 
more  than  food. 

It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  this  fine  duck  is  now 
at  least  fully  entitled  to  a  place  in  the  Fauna  of  the 


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THE   WINTER   DrCK.  333 

United  States,  as  it  has  its  habitat^  during  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  year,  on  waters  within  their  frontiers,  and 
is  well-known  in  the  north  western  regions  by  the  name 
prefixed  to  this  paper,  "Winter-Duck,"  or  among  the 
Canadian  French  as  the  Canard  d^hiver^  being  the 
synonym  of  the  term  above  used.  By  the  Ojibwa 
Indians,  of  Nottawasaga  Bay,  and  the  Matchedash,  it  is 
kAown  as  the  "Big  Widgeon" — a  most  inappropriate 
name,  as,  beside  that  it  bears  no  earthly  resemblance 
to  the  proper  widgeon,  it  entirely  differs  from  that  bird 
in  seasons  and  habits — the  Widgeon  or  Bald-Pate  being 
a  summer  resident  in  the  north-west  and  migrating  to 
the  sea-coast  southward  during  the  cold,  winter  months. 
This  bird,  on  the  contrary,  comes  down,  as  it  would 
appear,  late  in  the  fall,  from  the  extreme  north,  and 
winters  on  the  great  unfrozen  lakes,  its  southern  limit  of 
migration  not  varying  much,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  from 
the  forty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude. 

My  first  sight  of  this  bird  was  during  a  visit  to  the 
northern  shores  of  Lake  Huron  and  the  great  Georgian 
Bay,  in  company  with  Lieut.  F.  C.  Herbert,  command- 
ing H.  M.  steam  sloop,  "  Mohawk,"  then  stationed  at 
Penetanguishine.  Immediately  on  entering  that  beau- 
tiful little  harbor  on  a  bright  morning  early  in  Septem- 
ber, before  the  steamer  was  at  her  moorings,  a  Potawat- 
tomie  Indian,  who  could  speak  no  English,  came  along- 
side in  his  bark  canoe,  with  some  wild-fowl  for  sale, 
which  were  bought,  and  handed  on  deck  for  inspection. 


334:  AMERICAN   GAME. 

At  first  sight,  I  was  satisfied  that  the  bird  in  question, 
one  of  which  was  included  in  the  lot,  among  scanp,  or 
broad-bills,  as  "they  are  commonly  designated  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,  mallards,  dusky-duck  and  wood-duck, 
was  a  nondescript ;  and  1  laid  it  aside  to  sketch  and 
describe  at  my  leisure.  I  soon  perceived,  however,  that 
it  had  been  much  mutilated,  all  the  secondaries  having 
been  plucked  out,  and  the  upper  tail-coverts  torn  away,  in 
order  to  get  at  the  kemal,  from  which  the  birds  preen 
themselves,  and  which  the  Indians  of  that  region  inva- 
riably cut  awayj  and  appropriate,  for  what  purpose  I 
could  not  learn. 

In  the  meantime,  I  could  learn  nothing  of  the  bird 
among  the  settlers  in  the  neighborhood,  most  of  them 
pensioners  from  the  English  army,  except  that  it  was 
not  uncommon  in  the  fall,  in  the  great  bay  to  the  north- 
ward of  the  Manitoulins.  The  staff-surgeon  at  the  post, 
himself  a  good  naturalist,  was  ignorant  of  the  bird, 
and  we  carefully  examined  our  specimen  by  such  au- 
thorities as  were  contained  in  his  library,  Audubon  and 
Wilson,  as  well  as  some  small  English  compendiums  on 
the  subject  among  the  number,  arriving  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  certainly  was  not  described  in  any  of  these 
works. 

Nearly  a  month  afterward,  being  one  of  a  sporting 
party,  which  made  a  canoeing  excursion  of  a  week  or 
ten  days,  up  the  Matchedash  or  Severn  river,  which  dis- 
charges the  waters  of  Lake  Sincoe,  lying  midway  of  the 


THE   WINTER   DUCK.  335 

peninsula  between  lakes  Huron  and  Ontario,  into  the 
great  Georgian  bay,  I  again  came  across  this  unknown 
wild-fowl. 

There  had  been  four  or  ^Ye  nights  of  very  sharp  frost, 
and  ice  had  formed  to  the  thickness  of  a  dollar,  even  in 
the  river,  which  is  swift,  and  in  places  much  broken  by 
falls  and  rapids.  We  had  cleared  the  river,  and  had 
entered  the  northern  extremity  of  the  lake,  Simcoe, 
paddling  as  fast  as  we  could  toward  the  village  of 
Orillia,  with  two  canoes  running  on  nearly  parallel 
lines,  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  apart,  when  we  suddenly 
saw  several  large  plumps  of  duck  coming  from  the  north. 
There  were,  I  should  think,  thirty  or  forty  fowl  in  each 
plump,  and  long  before  they  were  nearly  within  gun- 
shot, I  observed  that  their  flight  was  in  itself  peculiar, 
and  unlike  that  of  any  fowl  I  had  ever  observed ;  for 
they  wheeled  and  swooped  frequently,  more  after  the- 
fashion  of  plovers,  tattlers,  or  other  shore-birds,  than  of 
any  species  of  duck  with  which  I  was  previously  ac- 
quainted ;  and  these  movements  were  the  more  conspic- 
uous, on  account  of  the  broad  white  bars  across  their 
wings,  formed  by  the  secondaries,  which  were  alternate- 
ly seen  and  lost  at  every  motion. 

At  length,  one  of  the  smallest  flocks  w^heeled  in  be- 
tween the  two  boats,  and  got  the  contents  of  three 
double-barrels,  beside  the  charges  of  two  or  more  long 
north-west  Indian  pieces.  A  good  many  birds  were 
knocked   over,   quite   dead;    and  a   good   many  more 


336  AMERICAN   GAME. 

scattered  away,  and  dropped,  more  or  less  severely  hurt, 
over  the  clear  waters  of  the  bright,  sunny  lake ;  while 
the  main  body,  or  what  was  left  of  it,  settled  down  and 
was  marked  by  the  Indians,  on  our  course  toward 
Orillia.  Some  considerable  time  was  occupied  in  taking 
the  cripples ;  which  were  all  dispersed,  and  which  swam 
away  rapidly  as  the  canoes  apj^roached  them,  none  of 
thern  making  any  attempt  at  rising  again  on  the  wing, 
seldom  diving  except  when  very  hard  pressed,  and  then 
only  for  a  little  time  and  short  distance. 

When  the  wounded  were  all  fairly  brought  to  bag,  the 
Indians  were  in  great  glee,  and  asserted  that  they  could 
paddle  us  upon  them  all;  which  I  should  have  been 
inclined  to  doubt,  had  I  not  learned  how  very  rarely  an 
Indian  hazards  an  assertion  of  which  he  is  not  perfectly 
well  assured,  especially  to  a  white  man;  for  the  duck  lay 
full  in  bright  water,  in  the  middle  of  the  lake,  whicli 
was  as  clear  and  smooth  as  a  piece  of  glass,  with  a  briglit 
sun  shining ;  and  our  canOes  were  large  and  full  of  men ; 
nor  was  there  a  particle  of  wild-rice  or  sedge  whereby  to 
cover  our  approaches. 

Nevertheless,  An-oon-ge-zhig,  or  the  "  Starry-Sky," 
for  so  was  our  principal  conductor  styled,  made  his 
prophesy  good ;  for  he  did  paddle  us  directly  on  the  birds, 
and  we  slaughtered  them,  as  they  sat  on  the  water  with- 
out offering  to  fly  at  our-approach,  until  we  had  bagged 
the  greater  part  of  the  whole  plump. 

On  the  following  day,  having  attained  the  limit  of  our 


THE   WINTER   DUCK.  '  337 

intended  excursion,  we  put  our  lieads  to  the  north-west- 
ward, and  bent  our'  way  homeward,  the  cold  weather 
suddenly  giving  way  on  the  noon  of  the  second  day ; 
after  which  we  enjoyed  the  most  delicious  Indian-sum- 
mer weather  I  have  ever  witnessed. 

During  the  whole  of  our  run  down  the  Matchedash, 
and  through  the  innumerable  rice-lakes  into  which  it 
expands,  we  had  great  sport  with  these  same  birds, 
which  we  killed  in  very  considerable  numbers,  while 
daily  we  could  observe  them  coming  in  by  great  flights 
from  the  north ;  though,  on  our  way  up,  only  three  or 
four  days  previously,  we  had  not  seen  a  single  bird  of 
the  kind,  though  we  had  shot  many  scaups,  mallard,  and 
dusky-duck ;  and  not  a  few  buffel-heads,  called  by  the 
Indians  spirit-ducks,  from  the  rapidity  with  which  they 
vanish  from  the  eye  when  diving  at  the  flash. 

The  first  thing  which  struck  me  on  examining  the 
specimen  shown  to  me  on  board  the  "  Mohawk,"  was 
the  peculiar  formation  of  the  head  and  bill,  and  the 
position  of  the  wings  and  legs  ;  all  indicating  it  to  be  of 
the  Q\?i^^  fuligulce^  or  sea-ducks,  and  of  that  coarse,  and 
for  the  most  part  uneatable,  species,  generally  known 
along  our  sea-board  as  "  Coots'^ — although  the  true  coot 
is  an  entirely  different  species,  haunting  fresh-water 
pools,  and  belonging  to  the  order  of  grallatores^  distin- 
guished from  the  ducks  by  having  only  semipalmated  in 
lieu  of  webbed  feet. 

The  known  birds  of  this  genus  oi  fuligulcB^  or  sea- 


338  '  A3IEEICAN   GAME. 

ducks,  as  estaMislied  by  tlie  autliorities,  and  belonging 
to  the  United  States,  are  sixteen  in  nnniber,  all  of  which 
are  entirely  familiar  to  me.  Of  these,  seven  have  the 
bill  peculiarly  formed,  or  I  might  say  cZ^formed,  with 
curious  protuberances  at  its  base,  and  the  feathered 
forehead  running  far  down  the  dorsal,  or  upper,  outline 
of  the  bill,  almost  to  the  nostril. 

These  seven  are  the  Eider-duck,  the  Eing-duck,  the 
Harlequin-duck,  the  Pied-duck,  the  Yelvet-duck,  the 
Surf-duck,  and  the  American  Scoter ;  of  these,  the  three 
last,  to  all  of  which  this  bird  bears  a  very  considerable 
resemblance,  are  known  as  "  coots"  on  the  sea-shore, 
and  are  distinguishable  by  w^hat  maybe  called  the  scoter 
bill,  high,  and  more  or  less  carunculated  at  the  base, 
and  often  variegated  with  several  bright  colors. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  of  this  genus  of  Fuligulm^  eight 
are  of  the  most,  two  of  these  the  very  most,  delicious  of 
all  water-fowl  on  the  table  ;  I  need  not  specify  the 
"  Canvas-back,"  and  the  "  Eed-head,"  as  their  names 
will  occur  spontaneously  to  every  sportsman,  every  gour- 
met in  the  land — ^while  the  other  eight,  including 
the  Long-tailed  duck.  Old-wife,  or  South-southerly,  are 
fishy,  rank,  oily ;  an  uneatable  abomination.  On  the 
strength  of  the  similarity  of  the  Winter-duck  of  Lake 
Huron,  to  the  Scoter  family  of  the  sea-ducks,  I  at  once 
prophesied  that  it  would  prove,  like  its  congeners,  uneat- 
able. My  surprise  may  be  imagined  when  it  turned  out 
— ^not  by  the  camp-fire,  where,  with  the  Spartan  sauce, 


THE  WINTEK   DUCK.  839 

all  meat  is  appetizing — but  at  the  comfortable  dinner- 
table,  with  all  appliances  and  means  to  boot,  at  Penetan- 
gui shine,  whither  we  conveyed  our  booty,  one  of  the 
most  delicious  duck  I  ever  tasted,  and  not  unworthy  to 
be  named  alongside  of  the  royal  Canvas-back  himself. 
It  was  not,  in  the  least  degree,  fishy  or  sedgy  ;  but  rich, 
succulent,  delicate,  and  melting  in  the  mouth,  like  the 
flesh  of  the  fattest  duck  that  ever  fed  in  the  Gunpowder 
or  the  Potomac — the  cause  of  which  undoubtedly  is 
this,  that  in  both  localities,  the  food  of  the  fowl  is  the 
same,  the  seeds  of  the  wild-rice,  zizania  jpanicula  effusa, 
the  wild- celery,  valisneria  Americana,  and  the  eel-grass, 
xostera  onarina ;  all  which,  or  varieties  of  them,  are 
universally  found  in  all  the  flats  and  mud-lakes  of  that 
region. 

On  our  return  to  convenient  quarters,  I  immediately 
set  myself  to  work  to  dissect  a  sufficient  number  of  these 
fine  fowl  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  the  distinctions'  of  the 
sexes  as  to  plumage  and  coloring  ;  to  take  careful  meas- 
urements, and  draw  up  accurate  descriptions ;  besides 
making  a  close  and  correct  drawing  of  the  bird  from 
nature.  From  all  that  I  have  since  been  enabled  to 
collect,  I  am  well  satisfied  that  this  is  a  new  and  unde- 
scribed^  sea-duck  from  the  arctic  regions.  I  have  never- 
found  any  one,  though  I  have  consulted  many  sportsmen 
and  naturalists,  who  is  acquainted  with  the  bird  south- 
east of  the  straits  of  Mackinaw.  At  Detroit  it  is 
unknown,  as  also  on  the  Canada  sht)res,  and  that  to 


340  AMEEICAN   GAME. 

persons  in  tlie  continual  habit  of  shooting  fowl  on  the 
great  rice-flats  of  Algonac  on  Lake  St.  Clair,  on  the 
Chatham  marshes  at  the  mouth  of  the  Thames  river  on 
the  same  lake,  and  on  the  pine-swamps  of  the  Aux 
Canards,  near  Amherstberg,  an  affluent  of  the  Detroit 
river — all  of  which  localities  are  literally  alive  with 
wild-fowl  at  the  proper  season. 

I  have  since  heard  from  an  officer  in  H.  M.  Koyal 
Canadian  Rifles  of  two  of  those  birds  being  killed  near 
Prescott,  on  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  but  they  were  utterly 
unknown  to  the  inhabitants  there  ;  and  he  wrote  to  me 
to  make  inquiries  as  to  their  species  and  name.  During 
the  present  summer  I  learned  also,  from  my  friend  Mr. 
Dotty,  M.  C.  for  Wisconsin,  that  during  the  whole  winter 
they  are  exceedingly  abundant,  w^herever  open  water  is 
to  be  found,  on  Lake  Winnebago  and  the  rivers  of  that 
region,  coming  late  in  the  autumn  and  disapj)earing  in 
the  spring. 

Every  thing,  therefore,  confirms  me  in  my  first  idea, 
that  this  is  an  as  yet  nondescript  duck,  nondescript  cer- 
tainly as  a  fowl  of  the  United  States,  whose  summer 
haunts  are  far  up  in  the  arctic  seas,  and  the  winter  limits 
'of  whose  migrations  do  not  extend  below  44°  30'  E". 
latitude.  In  this  view,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  sug- 
gesting, should  it  prove  to  be  hitherto  undescribed  and 
unnamed,  the  propriety  of  designating  it  the  "  Lake 
Huron  Scoter,"  from  its  locality,  and  its  resemblance  to 
that  class  of  ducks,  and,  in  Latin,  "  Fttligida  himacu- 


THE   WIKTEE   DUCK.  341 

lata^'^  from  tlie  two  white  sjoots  wliicli  are  its  most  distin- 
guishing characteristics. 

The  wood-cut  at  the  head  of  this  article  is  mathemat- 
icallj  reduced  from  my  own  original  sketch,  and  it  may 
be  described  as  follows  : 

Bj^ecific  Character. — Head  elongated,  elevated  toward 
the  coronse  ;  forehead  protrudirig,  feathered  one-third 
the  length  of  the  bill ;  bill  much  elevated  along  the, 
dorsal  outline,  decurved  and  flattened  toward  the  tip  ;  a 
broad  unguis  on  both  mandibles  ;  nostril  oval,  pervious, 
one-third  nearer  the  tip  than  the  base  ;  both  mandibles 
deeply  lamellated  along  the  gap.  ISTeck  short,  stout. 
Body  broad,  thick,  and  much  depressed;  wings  short, 
and  placed  far  back ;  legs  stout,  situate  very  far  back, 
scutellate  in  front,  reticullate  behind ;  tail  short,  acutely 
ovate  ;  two  centre  featliers  longest. 

Plumage. — ^Thick,  soft,  densely  compressed,  much 
blended,  and  having  an  under-stratum  of  soft,  blackish 
down.  ^    , 

Colors. — Bill,  bluish  black,  without  any  other  tint ; 
irides  hazel ;  legs,  in  the  adult  males,  dusky  crimson,  in 
the  females  dull  orange  ;  claws  black ;  webs  black  and 
grained  like  morocco  leather  ;  crown  of  the  head,  nape 
shoulders,  back,  upper  tail  coverts,  and  tail,  sooty  black  ; 
chin,  cheeks,  forepart  of  neck,  and  upper  breast,  sleek, 
satiny  mouse  color.  A  triangular  white  spot  at  the  base 
.  of  the  upper  mandible,  extending  to  the  anterior  angle 
of  the  eye  ;  a  larger,  irregular,  oblong  white  spot  below 


342  AMEKICAN   GAlilE. 

and  behind  the  posterior  angle  of  the  eye.  Forepart  of 
breast,  belly,  and  vent  dull,  silvery  gray  ;  flanks  and 
•under  tail  coverts  darkish,  glossy,  mouse  colored.  Scap- 
ularies,  wing-coverts  and  tertials,  dull  brownish  black  ; 
secondaries  broadly-banded  with  white,  forming  the 
speculum ;  primaries  jet  black,  under- win^  coverts 
silvery  mouse  colored.' 

Measurements. — Head  5  inches,  tip  of  bill  to  nape ; 
bill  2  4-10 ;  length,  to  tip  of  tail,  24  inches ;  to  tip  of 
claws  25J  ;  length  of  tarsus  1  T-10 ;  length  of  middle 
toe  2  6-10 ;  length  of  wing  9  j ;  length  of  middle  tail 
feathers  2  1-5  ;  extent  27  inches. 

The  male  bird  weighs  from  .2i  ta3  pounds ;  and  differa 
from  the  female  only  in  weight,  size,  greater  distinctness 
of  colors,  and  hue  of  the  legs. 

This  duck,  for  its  size,  weight  and  power  on  the  wing, 
when  in  full  flight,  is  very  easily  stopped  with  moderate 
sized  shot:  and  is  almost  equal  on  the  table  as  I  have 
observed  above,  to  the  canvas-back.  "With  decoys, 
immense  sport  might  be  had  off  these  birds  in  the  rice- 
lakes  which  they  frequent ;  and  with  or  without  them,  I 
would  desire  no  better  fim,  than  to  be,  under  this  clear 
moon  beneath  which  I  pen  these  lines,  in  a  fleet  birch- 
bark  canoe,  with  my  old  friends  An-oon-ge-zhig,  and  the 
''  Young  Owl,"  to  paddle  me  upon  the  fowl  among  the 
solitary  rice-lakes  of  the  lovely  Matched  ash.  My  life  on 
it,  if  we  should  sleep  on  hemlock  tips  with  a  camp-fire 


THE    WINTEK   DUCK.  343 

at  our  feetj  and  no  covering  above  us,  but  our  blankets' 
and  the  bonny  lady  moon,  we  should  not  fall  asleep 
without  both  play  and  supper  !  Telenimicoon  !  to  thoso 
who  understand  it ! 


FINIS. 


HEADLEY'S 

si^iPOEiiEssf  Mm  m3  mmmm% 

ILLUSTRATED    WITH 

OVER    SIXTY    FIXE    ENGRAVI^TGS. 

CHARLES  8CRIBNER 


HAS   ^UST    PUBLISHED 

A  IS'ew  and  Illiistratcd  Edition  of  iS^APOLEOISr  AXD 
HIS    MAESIIxiLS.    Br  J.  T.   IIeadley.     1   vol. 

8vo.     Over  sixty  Illustrations.     Price,  $3.00. 

» 

LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Napoleon  as  GoncraL 
"       at  Craonne. 
Bonaparte  presenting  to  the  Directory 

the  Treaty  of  Cauipo-Forraio. 
Capitnlatlon  of  Ulni. 
The  Mob  at  the  Tuillorios. 
Napoleon  reprimanding  the  Division 

of  Vaudois. 
Napoleon  as  Emperor, 
Arrest  of  the  Duke  DEnghien. 
Return  from  Elba. 
Departure  from  Fontainbleau. 
Death  of  Napoleon. 
Passage  of  the  Bridge  of  Areola. 
Marshal  Davonst. 
Napoleon  at  Krasnoe, 
Death  of  Moreau. 
Marshal  Lannes. 

His  Soldiers  proclaim  him  ••Corporal." 
Buttle  of  Aboukir, 
Charge  of  Cuirassiers  at  Eylau. 
Insurrection  at  Madrid. 
Marshal  Massena. 

"      Victor. 
Passage  of  the  Beresiaa 
Death  of  Duroc. 
Battle  of  Lutzen. 
Marshal  Bessiores. 
Passage  to  the  Tagliamento. 


Napoleon  Dissolving  the  Council  of 

Five  Ilundied. 
Passage  of  the  Groat  St.  Bernard. 
Battle  of  Marengo, 
Siege  of  Saragossa. 
Death  of  Marslial  Lannes. 
It  is  a  King  of  Homo. 
Interior  of  the  Invalided 
The  Funeral  Car. 
The  Exhumation. 
Marshal  MacHonald. 
Battle  of  Wagram, 
Napoleon     Visiting    the     Eulns   of 

Dierstein. 
The  Burning  of  Moscow. 
Combat  of  Fere  Cl.amp'^noise. 
Marshal  Soult. 
Battle  of  Austerlitz. 
Marshal  Murat. 
Passage  to  t!ie  Niemcn. 
Marshal  Suchet. 
Death  of  Poniatowski 
The   Forty-Third    Demi-Brigade   at 

tlie  Battle  of  ITohenlinden, 
Napoleon  at  Montereau. 
Marshal  Ney. 
Battle  of  Jena. 

Napoleon  Retreating  from  Moscow. 
Lord  Wellington. 


RURAL  HOMES;  Ob,S1^ETCHES  OF  HOUSES  suited  to  A^merican  Country  life. 
With  over  70  Original  Plans,  Designs,  &c.  By  Geevase  Wheeleb.  1  vol  12mo. 
Price,  $1,25. 

It  commences  \vitli  the  first  foot-tread  upon  the  spot  chosen  for  the  house ;  details  the 
considerations  that  sliould  weigh  in  selecting  the  site ;  gives  models  of  buildings  differing 
In  character,  extent,  and  cost ;  shows  how  to  harmonize  the  building  with  the  surrounding 
Bcenery ;  teaches  how  healthfully  to  warm  and  ventilate ;  assists  in  selecting  furniture  and 
the  innumerable  articles  of  utility  and  ornament  used  in  constructing  and  finishing,  and 
concludes  with  final  practical  directions,  giving  useful  limits  as  to  drawing  up  written  de- 
scriptions, specifications  and  contracts. 

"  In  this  neat  and  tasteful  volume,  Mr.  Wheeler  has  condensed  the  results  of  an  accom- 
plished training  in  his  art,  and  the  liberal  professional  practice  of  it 

"  We  can  confidently  recommend  this  elaborate  production  to  the  attention  of  gentle- 
men who  ar«  about  building  or  renovating  tiieir  country  houses,  to  professional  architects, 
and  to  all  readers  of  discrimination,  who  wish  to  knftw  what  is  truly  eloquent  in  this  beau- 
tiful art,  and  to  cultivate  a  taste  worthy  to  cope  witli  "judgment  of  wisest  censure." 

"  The  cost  of  such  establishments  is  carefully  considered,  no  less  than  the  comforts  they 
should  aflford,  the  display  they  can  (honestly)  pretend  to,  and  all  the  adjuncts  that  go  to 
complete  the  ideal  of  a  convenient  and  elegant  mansion/' — IT.  Y.  Mirror. 

"  It  is  extremely  practical,  containing  such  simple  and  comprehensive  directions  for  all 
wishing  at  any  time  to  build,  being  in  fact  the  sum  of  the  author's  study  and  e.Tf>erience  as 
an  architect  for  many  years." — Albany  Spectator. 

"  Mr.  Wheeler's  remarks  convey  much  practical  and  useful  information,  evince  good 
taste  and  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  beautiful,  and  no  one  should  build  a  rural  house 
without  first  hearing  what  ho  has  to  recommend." — Philadelphia  Presbyterian. 

"Important  in  its  subject,  careful  aud  ample  in  its  details,  and  charmingly  attiactive  in 
Its  style.  It  gives  all  the  information  that  would  be  desired  as  to  the  selection  of  sites — 
the  choice  of  appropriate  styles,  the  particulars  of  plans,  materbls,  fences,  gateways,  furni- 
ture, warming,  ventilation,  specifications,  contracts,  «&&,  concluding  with  a  chapter  on  the 
Intellectual  and  moral  effect  of  rural  architecture." — Hartford  Rel?.gious  Herald. 

"A  book  very  much  needed,  for  it  teaches  people  how  to  build  comfortable,  sensible, 
beautiful  country  houses.  Its  conformity  to  common  sense,  as  well  as  to  the  sense  :4 
beauty,  cannot  be  too  much  commended." — ^.  Y.  Courier  &  Enquirer. 

"No  person  can  read  this  book  without  gaining  much  useful  knowledge,  and  it  will  be  a 
great  aid  to  those  who  intend  to  build  houses  for  their  own  use.  It  is  scientific  without 
being  so  interlarded  with  technical  terms  as  to  confuse  the  reader,  and  contains  all  the  in- 
formation necessary  to  build  a  house  from  the  cellar  to  the  ridge  pole.  It  is  a  parlor  book, 
or  a  book  for  the  workshop,  and  will  be  valuable  in  either  place." — BaJp.ilo  Commercial. 

"  This  work  should  be  in  tlie  hands  of  every  one  who  contemplates  building  for  himself 
a  home.  It  is  filled  with  beautifully  executed  elevations  and  plans  of  country  houses  from 
the  most  unpretending  cottage  to  the  villa.  Its  contents  are  simple  and  comprehensiva,- 
embracing  every  variety  of  house  usually  needed." — Lowell  Courier. 

"To  all  who  desire  a  delightful  rural  retreat  of  "lively  cottagely"  of  getting  a  fair  equiv- 
alent of  comfort  and  tastefulness,  for  a  moderate  outlay,  we  commend  the  Eural  Ilomefl  of 
Mr.  Wheeler."— iV^  Y  Evening  Post. 


IL  MARVEL^S  WORKS* 

THIBTEENTH  EDmOK  OF 

REVERIES  OF  A  BACHELOR?  a  Book  of  the  Heart.     By  Ik.  Marvei..    1  M 
12mo.,  with  Illustrations  by  Dabley. 

The  Illustrated  Edition,  ■vnth  Twenty-fire  Illustrations,  will  be  ready  about  the  middle. 
of  October. 

"Quotations  give  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  depth  of  feeling,  the  beantil'ol  and  winning 
frankness,  the  clastic  vigor  of  soul,  and  the  singular  fidelity  of  expression  which  charac- 
terize this  remarable  volume.  Its  quaint  ingenuity  of  arrangement  is  wholly  lost  in 
extracts;  and  in  order  to  enjoy  the  delicious  adaptation  of  form  to  sentiment  in  which  it 
would  be  hard  to  name  its  equal,  it  must  be  read  as  a  consummate,  artistic,  gem-like 
whole."— iV^.  Z  Tribune. 

"The  dreamy,  shadowy  haze  of  reverie,  its  fleet  transitions,  its  vivid  and  startling  pas- 
sages— ^more  vivid,  oftentimes,  than  anything  of  real  life — are  admirably  reproduced  on 
these  delicate  pages.  The  dense  and  deliberate  style,  though  nowise  itself  dreamy  and 
Insubstantial,  dealuig  largely  rather  in  the  tough  and  oaken  Saxon,  that  makes  the  strength 
of  our  hardy  tongue,  is  adapted  with  admirable  pliancy  to  the  movement  and  tone  of  the 
fancy*  There  are  passages  in  it— as  those  descriptive  of  early  separations,  schooldays  and 
their  sequel — that  will  start  the  memory,  with  a  quick  throb,  in  many  hearts.  And  there 
aro  essential  ^and  permanent  qualities  exhibited  in  it,  both  of  intellect  and  of  sensibility, 
that  give  noble  promise  of  a  future,  and  that  will  make  the  subsequent  publications  of  ths 
author  events  to  be  watched  for." — Independent. 

The  writer  who  can  lure  a  few  of  his  fellow  mortals  away  from  the  bustle,  and 
the  strife,  and  the  fret,  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  a  restless  existence — who  can  plant  them 
in  his  own  quiet  arm-chair,  and  think  a  little  for  them  so  easily  and  so  cosily  that  they 
shall  fancy  his  thoughts  to  be  their  own  soliloquies — who  can  carry  them  off  from  the 
engrossing  present,  backward  to  the  fullness  of  youth,  or  forward  to  the  repose  of  age — 
vho  can  peel  off,  here  and  there,  the  worldly  rind  that  grows  ever-thickening  over  the 
heart,  growing  fastest  and  thickest  in  the  hothouses  of  fashion,  and  in  the  rank  soil  of 
wealth — the  writer,  we  say,  who  can  do  this — Mr.  Ik.  Marvel  does  it  in  his  Eeveries — ^shaU 
be  welcomed  to  a  place  in  our  regai-ds,  and  cordially  recommended  to  our  readers'  book- 
shelves."—J-Ziion-. 

"  This  is  a  pleasant  and  clever  book ;  racy,  genial,  lively  and  sparkling.  It  is  a  book  to 
put  one  in  good  humor  with  himself  and  all  the  -woTld."— Southern  Literary  Gazette. 

"  It  Is  an  exquisite  production,  the  like  of  which  the  press  has  not  produced  in  this 
country  or  in  England.  Portions  of  it  remind  us  forcibly  of  some  of  the  old,  and  almost 
unknown  French  authors,  whose  sketches  of  thought  and  feeling  wo  have  never  seen 
equalled  for  delicacy  and  truth,  until  we  read  these  Reveries.  The  book  is  especially 
welcome  as  one  of  a  new  class  in  this  country,  which  appeals  to  all  the  finer  feelings  of  the 
heart." — Journal  of  Commerce. 

"  Well  has  the  author  called  it  a  book  of  the  heart  Not  of  a  heart  withered  by  selfish- 
ness, mistaking  disappointment  for  son-ow,  hatred  of  the  world's  joys  for  philosophic  con- 
tempt ;  but  a  generous,  noble  heart,  that  has  sorrowed  as  we  have  sorrowed,  that  can  echo 
back  from  the  distant  hills  of  its  own  experience  our  own  cries—now  of  joy,  now  ol  grief 
and  oar  songs  of  quiet  happiness." — Nl  Y.  Courier  and  Inquirer. 


^^THS  FALL  OF  POLAND.^^ 

Containing  an  Analytical  and  a  Philosophical  Account  of  the  Causes  which  Conspired  In 

the  Kuin  of  that  Nation ;  together  with  a  history  of  the  country  from  its  origin.    By 

L.  C.  Saxton.    2  vols.  12  mo,,  pp.  563,  621, 

The  entire  work  is  no  hasty  utterance  of  crude  opinions,  for  the  author  has  evidently 
fitted  himself  for  the  task  he  has  undertaken,  by  a  study  of  history  generally,  and  particu- 
]ar]y  by  a  careful  collation  of  all  those  writers  that  bear  upon  the  subject 

In  order  to  be  more  complete,  the  various  topics  are  arranged  under  diflferent  beads,  as 
Eeligion,  Government,  Great  Men,  Civilization,  Society,  &c.,  tlms  enabling  the  sttident  to 
refer  directly  to  the  subject  which  he  may  desire  to  see,  and  fitting  it,  with  its  appropriate 
index,  to  make  a  valuable  work  for  the  library. — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 

He  has  gone  into  his  subject  with  thoroughness  and  a  scrupulous  regard  to  accuracy  in 
detail,  having  been  many  years  in  gathering  his  materials,  and  giving  them  symmetry  and 
form, — Evening  Transcript. 

The  work  abounds  with  thrilling  incidents  and  vivid,  not  to  say  gorgeous  descriptions, 
as  well  as  in  valuable  historic  ^etaW.— Albany  Argus. 

It  is  the  product  of  great  thought  and  research,  and  presents  a  complete  and  accurate 
view  of  the  History,  Government,  Laws,  Eeligion,  Popular  Character,  Literature,  and  in 
short  everything  connected  with  Poland  that  can  have  an  interest  for  the  scholar  or  the 
statesman.  The  author  writes  with  great  vigor  and  clearness,  and  his  work  is  constructed 
throughout  upon  the  best  principles  of  historical  science.  It  is  a  solid,  symmetrical,  and 
glowing  incorporation  of  all  the  great  points  of  interest  of  one  of  the  most  interesting 
nations  of  modern  tiines ;  and  deserves  to  be  .placed  among  the  enduring  ornaments  of 
American  literature. — Courier  and  Enquirer. 

These  volumes  embody  a  full  and  continuous  history  of  Poland  from  the  earliest  ages  of 
its  existence,  in  which  are  included  the  several  dynasties  under  which  it  has  been  gov- 
erned, with  reference  to  every  subject  which  throws  light  on  the  principles  of  its  govern- 
ment, its  varying  prosperity,  its  literature,  its  distinguished  men,  its  religion,  and  the  char- 
acter of  its  people.  The  author  has  consulted  everything  which  has  been  written  on  the 
history  of  Poland  which  was  accessible  ;  has  placed  his  materials  under  a  clear  arrange- 
ment, and  has  subjected  the  whole  to  a  careful  analysis.  There  is  no  other  book  extant, 
in  which  so  much  has  been  compressed  on  the  subject  of  Poland,  and  which  may  more 
safely  be  referred  to  as  an  authority. — Philadelphia  Presbyterian. 

A  map  and  engravings  add  interest  and  value  to  a  history  which  Mr.  Saxton  has  pre- 
pai-ed  with  gi-eat  labor  and  care.  We  know  not  where  else  to  look  for  so  much  in  the  same 
compass,  relating  to  a  nation  whose  tragic  career  has  drawn  to  it  the  attention  and  sym- 
pathy of  the  civilized  world.  The  construction  of  the  work  is  in  many  respects  a  model 
for  books  of  this  class,  giving,  as  it  d)es,  an  answer  to  the  inquiries  that  are  naturally  sr^- 
gested  to  the  mind  of  the  inquisitive  reader,  who  will  not  rise  from  the  perusal  of  so  com- 
plete a  survey  of  Poland  and  its  history,  "without  feeling  himself  informed  at  almost  every 
point  to  which  his  inquiries  may  be  directed, —  Watchman  and  Reflector. 

The  author's  style  is  terse  and  vigorous ;  his  conclusions  enforced  by  arguments  based 
upon  well  established  facts  and  sound  philosophy ;  and  the  work,  as  a  whole,  we  consider  a 
valuable  accession  to  modern  historical  contributions.  It  is  worthy  the  patient  study  of 
the  student  of  liistory,  and  eminently  deserving  a  place  in  every  private  as  well  as  public 
Whraxj.— Troy  Daily  Whig. 

It  is  a  book  which  the  statesman  may  read  with  profit  while  it  is  also  well  calculated  to 
Interest  the  general  reader.  Especially  would  we  commend  it  to  the  perusal  of  the  student, 
who  will  find  many  things  "  both  new  and  old"  within  its  lids. — FreemaiCs  Jaurnai. 

This  work  recommends  itself  to  public  notice  by  its  clear  and  concise  history  of  a  coun 


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